JOY'S IRON

How bountiful is the joy of those with faith is in the Lord,
it is the heart's armor for its wounds and covers the scars,
even when the journey comes to darkest desert it guides to water,
Heaven's fall adding the rain of blessings upon each spirit
for stalwart souls who constant steps of trust and praise lead to His throne.


Ps 84:5-7
5:"Happy are the people whose strength
is in You.
whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.
6: As they pass through the Valley
of Baca (weeping)
they make it a source
of springwater;
even the autumn rain will cover it
with blessings.
7: They go from strength to strength;
each appears before God in Zion.

TAGGED

This seems to be a popular word today. The ability to mark something so you can add it to some collection.

And it can apply to so many things in life, but not sure that always means it results in something good. Just another form of what we decide it wealth.

That seems to be apart of human nature. We love to place our identity on things. We like to have that pride of ownership.

Even if it really isn't true. There is nothing we can ever claim to own forever. Sooner or later we will die and it will pass on as lease to another person.

Lease is an interesting concept I think. The idea that we only have rights of use, but never really own something.

We are free to use it as we desire, but never actually claim it is ours eternally. You just can't get people to see it that way.

Seems like so many of us get snared by the need to place our fingerprints are left on stuff. Doesn't matter what it is, we love saying it belongs to me.

With most things I'm nor sure it really matters that much. But when it comes to the Lord and His word it is a different issue.

The other day I had dealings with this person who had decided that a given interpretation of a single verse was the foundation of truth for all of God's word. There was a lot of hate and bias in that person's view.

Not a whole lot of truth or concern for the complete reveal word, but just that this one verse was a means to justify hate. Hardly all that inspiring to me.

Well, when such views are preserved just for personal opinion that is one thing. But when it is used as hammer to beat others it is not a good thing.

What my question was is where was there any love in the person's desires? I didn't see any.

And there was no interest in any form of encouragement or inspiring. Just harm others and making them feel inadequate.

I didn't see the Lord in any of that at all. Regardless of how much the person quoted the bible.

Without love or a need to help others it hardly seemed to be truly reaching out to bless and really be a joy as would have been God's will.

RESOURCES

I was involved in this church once that loved to plan everything. There was no detail in their function from ordering supplies to even outreach and church growth, which didn't end up being planned.

Oh they say they had faith. But somehow it sort of got lost in committee. Really was so very sad.

Did they ever get it? Nope. They just kept on holding more meetings. Hardly something I figured was helpful.

It really did get absurd. Limiting the hand of God to their own minutes from meetings. Never once seeing the idea that God wasn't restricted by their choices.

Still, they went right on doing the same thing. So proud of the funds they had in their building fund.

The fact that they church never grew made the point of having a building fund rather mute. So hard to get excited when you have resources, but no one is there in need of the building.

So the whole process just plugged along. It didn't change and it time the church really became nothing more than a shell.

Those few who went felt so happy in their bounty. So devoid of any sense of stress because they never risked a thing.

However, meanwhile, the Holy Spirit just found other places where those dwelt that did listen. And naturally those places always had a shortage of funds.

You just didn't notice them worried as much about it. They praised the Lord for His blessings.

Such an irony issues in the process. A regrettable detour from what is important because of the priority to one's own values.

And in the end, the Lord's work suffers. Oh it is viewed as a place where some think they are so faithful to the Lord.

It just doesn't end up being the truth. And that is the tragedy. Which never is heal, nor improved in the process.

So we move along in our idea of bounty. To do what is right in our own eyes. And maybe a few listen to the Lord in the process.

If not too busy counting the money in one's wallet.

EPILOGUE

Sunlight's traces
evaporating in aged eyes,
middle aged dusk,
feeling creepy approach
of winter's night.

Immortality's epilogue
penned as song
notes dipped
in favorite anesthetic
for sound of reaper footsteps

WINDOWS

Windows are so useful on many different levels. They allow one to see the world from a place of refuge.

To be sheltered from the climate, yet see the light. Be able to savor all the beauty, but not have to tolerate any thing we want to block out.

Yet the windows are also fragile. They break easy. And thus can be something with both a good and bad quality.

Still we don't give up on them despite the risk. We haven't stopped using them even if we have had broken windows.

It has been said the eyes are the windows to the soul. And it is amazing how you can get a sense about a person from their eyes.

Sometimes it is good, others not. But one thing I think remains true is that the will always reflect what is inside.

Pity our lips try so hard to give their own version. They can really disguise what is there even if we think it is so.

God shines from the soul of one who is truly trusting in Jesus as Lord and Savior. He will not need to mask that reality.

It is amazing how many that claim to be followers do so with their lips, but you can't see it in their eyes. Just not there.

Still, they know all the right words. They speak the language of faith. Just not the soul of faith.

In every gaze there is a message. One that doesn't always reflect what we proclaim. Hopefully, it will be one that is honest.

I find that missing in many cases. I don't care that a person is a sinner. I care about their need to lie about it.

How this honors God I have no idea. Nor does it ever bring in good. For that will never result in what we think.

Yet the masquerade goes on. People do it all the time. So sad it is when they do. And if only the Holy Spirit really was their light.

So sad it is all a look so hollow. Something that will never change by what is not there. For the wrong eyes it is only sadness.

For the one of faith it will shine.

SAND

A symbol for time and image of desert. A source of dream castles and essence used to make glass.

It can be the place where building a foundation comes easy. But the end result may be disaster.

How easy it is to prefer the means that has less hardship. To be able to claim accomplishment without test.

However, without the help of the Lord nothing will ever end up a source of real blessing. No matter how easy it seems to create.

This is one of those aspects of faith that isn't always pleasant. Oh we don't always mind trusting the Lord when things are easy.

If the place we are asked to serve is soft sand and not rocky and difficult terrain. Such is the way of human nature.

The Lord always has a much higher purpose in such aspects. He isn't about making things easy just to please us.

Instead He will give us ground to train and prepare. It may not always look ideal and not seem the right choice.

However the Lord's wisdom will always prevail. We will see His hand made the right choice in due season.

Just reaching that point can be difficult. It can be so hard to actually embrace that choice if we see some nice sand elsewhere.

How easily our minds can convince ourselves that this is the perfect choice. And it might even work right up to the point things fall apart.

I wish I could say I had always learned that lesson. Even if later we decide we know, instincts will still say next time it will work our way.

Just part of the sad part of our way of dealing with faith on a human level. Then we must again learn.

This is never easy. For that is a hard pill to swallow if we dream of sand and get only rocks. Sooner or later the rocks will hopefully reach into our head.

That can take a life time for some. Others learn it quickly. The ones that do discover sand for its true worth.

The one that God intended.

WATER

Water truly does play an important part in life. We could hardly survive without it. And it composes most of the planet in many ways.

But even if water is necessary for our life, how many times we crave some other version, such as pop or coffee. It doesn't mean we don't like water, just that we prefer variety.

Even though water is also found in all of those options too. Such is the irony perhaps, that we give water a different appearance or taste and it makes us happy.

Still it doesn't diminish our need for water. Nor will it change while we are alive no matter how we try.

In the scriptures the Holy Spirit is sometimes symbolized as water. A fluid that washes the soul, refreshes the heart and cleanses the mind.

But the Holy Spirit will come in the manner that is natural and not artificial. He doesn't sugar His presence according to our desires.

However, for some that is not enough. They will never be contest with the honest and true way the Lord touched.

If it doesn't have that soda pop fix then it needs to be spiced up. We have to offer some zing to make it more appealing.

Which is what happens in some houses of worship. Oh it is not enough to have the Lord present.

To have Him bless in ways that are simple and loving. There need to be thunderbolts in the body.

If one doesn't feel it then it isn't really the Lord's spirit that is there. This is the suggestion.

Of course God isn't required to display His power according to our wishes. It is not His requirement for faith that we see prove that He exists.

Only for some that will be a need. They will always expect the Lord to entertain. And it becomes their spiritual fix.

How sad it truly is when we require this kind of drink. To not be content with the pure and simply way the Lord will wash over our lives.

But that is a reality that is a part of human nature. Not always a good one, but one that si true just the same.

I am grateful for what ways the Holy Spirit does work in my life, even if it doesn't always leave me with something to boast about.

LADDERS

Cellar sight groping where light is just denial's myth,
stumbling over ladder on way to resignation's corner,
footsteps heard pounding from main floor,
singing a chant of basement splendor
to drown out their tones.

Smell of baking pastries from kitchen
claws at insides, reminders of feasts
missed by dining on canned goods requiring no change,
enough, the mind regales,
for steps on rungs leading to taste
carry danger they might break.

A thousand voices utter their staircase horrors,
sounding more hideous in perennial darkness,
clutching the tattered rug used as mattress,
it is covered in dirt and full of holes,
but still better to the hands
than risk of splinters if climbing towards next level.

Tales told in head to appease the panic demons,
but the noise clamoring from above
becomes a wand to weave over the anxieties.

Desperation's warrior possesses the spirit,
deciding it better to die on way to hope
than sucking on fear's formaldehyde.

WINE

I'm not a drinker myself. And even in my earlier years when I did sip a drink or two, I never liked wine.

For some reason it always made me sick at my stomach. So I could hardly warm up to the idea of drinking any.

But wine in a spiritual sense I think has to deal with more of how the Holy Spirit impacts a person's life. That ability to influence in away that is other than routine.

Course in the days of the scriptures wine was a very common form of drink. It was at a time when there was few other options.

They didn't have refrigeration or other means to preserve things so turning grapes into wine was a natural form of alternative. And though there have been some that have claimed that they prefer a grape juice alternative the plain fact is that they used wine of the usual type.

Once again the traditions of some men took precedence over the truth. How often this occurred.

And naturally it never did in fact convey the major issue. Which is when the Lord spoke of "new" wine He was truly speaking of something that was different.

A change that meant a different view of life. An newness that affected the heart with a different need.

In a time when people had elevated the law as priority they had forget what was really important. And that was the new wine of a spiritual nature.

The type that in some way impacted the way one view God. For they are taken the old wine of tradition and made it a vinegar

It did not bring joy or any of the things they true spirituality was supposed to represent. And they lost any flavor of its meaning.

For without the capacity to influence our thinking and how we feel it is not a wine that truly blessed. And if they taste is sour how will it be enjoyed?

Such is the nature of spiritual wine. It is of a rare vintage that never truly blessed. Some keep drinking it no matter what.

They will never embrace the Lord's choice. That is not the choice they prefer. Because the flavor never appeals.

It is just so much easier to put up with vinegar you can have by your own choice.

BETWEEN THE LAIRS

I guess the concept of a lair has always appeal to me. It is that place to me of shelter and preservation.

Somewhere you feel comfortable and the place has part of your life in its essence. A truly wonderful environment where you are at peace.

I think these happen at different times in life. Some place we are able to dwell for a while, but it not heaven.

What makes it a lair for the person will vary, but they truly are a terrific climate to experience. Providing they are not a prison.

It can become one if a person treats it as permanent. If one gets so acclimated to it that they refuse to change.

How often that can happen, especially as we get older. Just the desire to keep the same lifestyle and situation.

But the Lord will truly want us always to have a test for our faith. He might not remove us from our environment, but may stir up our feelings.

That sense of insecure that makes us examine our values. What sadness when we don't do that.

I have seen so many who become so engrained in their need for sameness it become a prison. They can't in anyway change.

They will treat going to church and routine as prove of blessings. Not the reality that it is a spiritual death.

The lair becomes a cocoon. They fall asleep and never wake up. The whole time thinking they are living such a complete life.

God doesn't take away something if we don't learn in the process. If we simply keep clinging to the same gold, He would stop us.

What gets lost is any blessing. The real changes that will truly help us see and want more from our Lord.

So in the flesh, life seems so prosperous. But on a spiritual level it is poverty. Just for the person it becomes business as usual.

And the whole truth and need gets sacrifice. But there is no pain. The person is just too busy thinking they are the Lord's favorite.

How sad they never see the reality they are so poor in terms of faith.

Charades

Quiet screaming mime mutilation gestures
eyes not streaming,
but releasing single droplet of inner hell,
trickling so agonizingly slow
down the cheek,
acid to lover's eyes.

It is hush
of torturous shout,
possessing a banshee wail with razor edge,
self portrait
of defiled innocence

Wake of guilt's hell
living in charade's silence,
death of trust
the defiling moan never muttered.

STEMS

The sprouts of the heart that reach out to our fingers. They are the stems of our real desires.

Not the words we say, but the ones that deeds that truly reflect what we believe and value.

Hard to appreciate how so many ignore the truth on this subject. Their actions contradict what they say.

But they keep saying it anyway. The heart just never is able to honestly embrace the reality of such hypocrisy.

It is as if we say something different it will make what we lie about become truth. And what is truly sad is how we keep doing it even when it doesn't work.

Just so hard to truly avoid this as a habit. It just feel so good to make it become the truth and to hope it will be what others accept.

Course it never really is. Instead it becomes the contrast that truly discredits. And we complicate it by adding my lies to the process.

However, this never produces any long term benefits. It merely adds to the image that believers are by nature hypocrites.

And often this ends with only adding to the justification some give for hating the faith. Which never truly improves anything.

How hard it is to take off one's mask. To truly look deep into the truth and see the sinner that was always there.

We aren't so appreciative of that view. Never grateful for the portrait no matter how accurate it is.

God' spirit truly does make us take a hard look at that real image. And the stems we try to not see.

Sometimes He will prune them, others He will transform them. So that in the end we truly flower by His will.

Such is the nature of what is meant to be for a follower of the Lord. Pity it is when pride gets in the way.

It is the legacy we can truly do without. But not always are able to do so with the right perception.

How blessed is the soul who puts faith before bragging.

ON TOMORROW'S TIME

One thing I will never pretend about is having patience. It is definitely not among my attributes.

I don't see any merit in claiming otherwise. And you can be sure that age hasn't done much to improve the situation.

With the exception that the years do allow me to have a better feel for how long something is going to take. Doesn't mean I enjoy the wait though.

I wish that waiting wasn't part of the test of faith. However, time will always be part of that reality.

Still, knowing that doesn't improve things all that much. I continue to struggle with the moments that something is there to worry about.

It might not in anyway improve the situation, but it does help me appreciate this is part of who I am. And for me it means keeping that in my mind when faith is something I must cling too.

How that works for me is to embrace it, not lie about it. To know the tides of anxiety inside will always wash over my life.

So it translates into depending even more on the Lord. Which means no rushing on making decisions.

That can be so incredibly difficult. How hard it is to not make a quick pray for the Lord's guidance and then try to solve the problem anyway.

And I have given in to haste way too often at times. Not a source of pride to be sure. Just a realty.

Even though it does cripple my actions at times. Even if I am not able to curb the compulsiveness, I don't let it make me give up.

That is the part that really matters. Mistakes and habits God can grant us grace to cope and deal with, but giving up severs the connection.

Satan sure will try to convince us we should forget it all. He is so good at those kinds of whispers.

Even more finding a willing person to help give us doubts. That also will rip at the heart and bring more doubts.

Only the Holy Spirit has the power to give us strength through such times. And that is the joy that sustains.

DESTITUTE

There are all kinds of poverty. The type that impacts you pocket book always gets a person's attention.

But whether we are rich or poor in terms of material wealth, I think spiritual poverty is always much more difficult to have to embrace. You can find means to hope for that next form of provision, but if you feel there is no hope it just won't seem to matter.

I've seen this kind of destitution so often. People of affluence who are dead inside. They don't lack for means of pleasure, but are miserable just the same.

Not that being poor brings happiness. It isn't the same in terms of when you have an empty stomach and not sure when the next meal will come.

Still, even though material needs do have a purpose and more so when you don't have them, they won't fill a hole in the spirit. People try, but never really works.

I was watching this man giving speech the other night. It was filled with vision and meant to inspire hope.

But the hope was all linked to what you had. That if you followed his advice and counsel it would lead to happiness.

There was no mention of God or faith, nothing about the need for the kind of joy only possible through the power of the Holy Spirit. Sadly this is the voice that often gets the most attention.

This is not to say he didn't have a point. Or that there was no value to his advice. Only that in reality, the end result was not going to be utopia.

I wish this life did offer that. How often we do so crave the need for some place without suffering or pain.

And we know that the path of faith doesn't guarantee the absence of pain. Some have suggested it, but the Lord never promised paradise on this earth.

He did tell us that we would know tribulation. Not quite the uplifting message we might prefer, but it wasn't meant to depress.

It was meant to convey the truth. That our path in life carries with it demands. Those include times of challenge as part of the trials of faith.

There is joy too. The occasions when some comfort comes. But it is always tide by the Lord to His way.

And if we can't find that joy in what He grants on the wisdom of His way, all the money in the world won't matter.

SHADE

A tree of life growing in the soul,
rising from soil, planted by parental hands,
it bears the sap of what it is was fed,
love or hate nourishing its roots.

Tender green branches reach for curiosity's light
stretching towards the faces of enchantment
unless scarred by the trolls of abuse.
But always feeling the sky in one's thoughts,
as the wind blows its breath of fate
to bend and test in sway of gust.

Eyes peer from atop the heights grown
bearing a gaze, which always
looks through the souvenirs of time
collected.

"If only" is the song that is sung
when the leafs of belief's magic
no longer drapes the bark in innocence.

Sun shines from the inner discovery.
first glowing out of ignorance's night,
ever does its rays
bring a day filled with wisdom's shine
or the darkness,
which never flees.

Another sprouting conscious
among a forest of hearts
trying not to get lost
among the shade of oblivion.

A CALLING OF SHOULD

The Lord is go very good and knowing our heart. He can find the one part of our life we hold most sacred and make sure that we are tested on if we cherish it more than Him.

And He will put us in the position to test that reality. It may not result in us having to give up what we hold as a treasure, but we will have to let ourselves be willing to make the sacrifice.

Such is the challenge we don't always accept. The times it brings us to some crossroads where we truly are force to face what we really value.

It is never easy. That can be the part we have the most difficulty embrace. And the problem with the life of faith is that it always will dig at our values.

I don't care if the person has live a hundred years, we never get to retire from this challenge. There is no place we reach that we get to rest and take it easy.

Some feel Heaven is a type of amusement park. Place where all our dreams come true and we get to do whatever we want.

But the truth is different. It is the abode of God. The place where the Lord reigns and that is always going to be true.

This means it is a place of obedience. A place to learn and serve. The dwelling where we become the joy that pleases the Lord.

To focus on ourselves and only make it our priority is to treat it as our paradise. That we get a chance to be our own dream.

God is always loving and caring. He always blesses with joy, but also doesn't let us forget He is the one who is on the throne.

In love and faith we find the path He plans for us. It is what should be and not what we think is our preference.

I've known so many that thought otherwise. They defined eternity by their own values.
And made should ought to be would.

Always based on their idea of would. It sounds great and we think we are so blessed in that mode.

But to the Lord it is simply our desires magnified. This never brings the path that God truly honors.

Even if it sounds great to us in the process. Which is how the devil will always leave us feeling is true.

ARMS

Having arms and using them by God's will are never the same thing. We often prefer to use them for our own needs first.

Then after we are exhausted and done all we want, it is okay Lord I'm ready to do as you wish. Just let me take a break first.

That might sound you know very exaggerated, but I do think it does often come closer to the truth than we wish to admit.

How said it is when we don't keep our priorities strait. It really not all the complicated. For the Lord does understand our needs.

But He does know our heart also and that means He can tell when we say one thing, but mean another. Even if we don't admit it.

It is so easy to sit down and justify our actions. God won't prevent us from doing so. He does grant us freedom of choice.

Only problem is when we want to be blessed for being stubborn. Like I know I did it my way, but I want the Lord to fix my mistake.

It really is one of those aspects to human nature that isn't a good element. Our tendency to define things by our own priorities.

I remember listening to this preacher who made faith out to be an Aladdin's lamp. One of those approaches were you can have your heaven on earth.

There wasn't any mention of doing anything for the Lord out of love. Oh being willing to sacrifice out of obedience.

It was all about the need to get rich. Oh he had plenty of verses to interpret scriptures in a way that supported his point of view.

Such people always do. Even if their interpretation isn't true. Even if it does leave people false expectations.

Which in the end if it is not rooted in truth, then it never results in their beating any real blessing from the Lord. Not the kind that guides towards faith and salvation.

Oh it might lead to distraction. It might guide some to the path other than one God is directing.

Which never in the end is the least bit of a real value. And none of these prosperity teachers naturally talk about those who don't end up rich.

They treat it as a bad witness, when in truth they are the real false witnessess.

BEGINNINGS

Sometimes
it takes a funeral
to bring a birth,
a death
before we live.

Mothers have
many faces
and forms,
doors to their arms
possessing signs
that the mind reads
with trepidation
as saying no trespassing.

The starting gate
for a race to the sun
never before seen
begins in darkness,
only visible to the heart
doing an imitation of a corpse
because fairy tale prophets
used as morticians
wrote their stories
using cancers as a morale.

Genesis is the morning
when we stop fearing paradise
and smell it with the soul,
taking toddler steps
where we thought a mine field dwelt.

Using a key from the light
we kept in a closet,
awakening in a crypt
turned into a cradle
unto a dawn,
overlooking a grave,
now a fertile furrow of seedlings,
holding a hose instead of a shovel.

PASSION'S SLEEVE

I have to admit that I am one of those who is easily noticeable in terms of my emotions. Not good at all at faking them.

And most people who know me at all are aware of this fact. Not one I regard with great pride.

But it is part of who I am. And that is okay. Providing you are able to accept this as being and aspect of your essence.

Some can, some can't. I think honesty matters in that regard. Better to tell the truth about any flaws or habits than deny them.

A lot can't seem to handle that. They will make up stories to cover their shortcomings. And that is never something that gets good results.

Besides most people will notice anyway, regardless of what we say. So pretending seldom improves things.

I was listening to this preacher last night on television. And part of what he said made sense.

But the truth was he as mainly about making money. Faith to him was about getting rich.
And naturally it made him very popular.

Sadly this even though he had a gift for tugging at passion's sleeve, it wasn't God message he was sharing.

Oh he sure did peddle the hope. And in greenbacks too. Yes, if you wanted your heaven here on earth, he was your man.

I couldn't help think of those who gave and were faithful who never got rich. They didn't do anything wrong.

Just were part of the host of life who do not get rich or know a path filled with gold. Yet it doesn't mean they are not saved.

That was sort of implied by his comments. As if you were going to heaven if you didn't have a big bank account.

So he made it out to be a case that if you wanted more listen to him, but if you didn't then don't. Guilt laced in that comment.

It is sad when the gospel gets dollar signs. And that somehow you are left feeling inadequate if you dont.

Which is other than the gospel of grace as the Lord would bless.

EXTRACTS

The essence of moods, the whiffs of ambience. Those little encounters that are extracts of something more touching to life than mere survival.

But there are other types of extracts also. The ones that bring dark thoughts and unwelcome feelings.

I have been amazed at how often the past comes back into my mind in the most unexpected ways. Some word said, some passing moment stirs a flashback.

These sadly are more often negative. And it stems from the unfortunate legacy in life from more tears than smiles.

I don't mention it for pity purposes, but that by sharing, hoping in some way it will minister to others. For perhaps in so doing it might give some help to another.

To have lived in so many valleys, to have fallen so often and been scarred there is the reality such moments stick inside your gut. They may get forgotten for a while, but so often something happens to make feel so real again.

The person without faith struggles with the emotions by whatever means appeals to them. Trying mood enhancers or some other method to appease the pain inside.

Does it mean that faith in the Lord will result in some path where this can be stopped? As Christians can we expect God's Spirit to in anyway heal us of the same problems all of humanity experiences?

The truth is that we are all creatures who must learn to cope. Faith is simple a different method.

It is the joy that comforts because you are reminded of how tomorrow the day may be better. How you can wake up in eternity and then it all washes away in the blood of the Lamb.

What prevails for the person of faith is not always healing or deliverance. Lots of those who trust in the Lord still suffer from some weakness.

It doesn't mean they are being punished. That would not be the truth. It can be a factor, but doesn't have to be

And in reality we are given the choice to praise and trust. To savor the blessings and trials.

And most of all to keep trusting even when the life around does give us some reason to want to give up. Which never brings joy

Such is the walk that comes with the tests that don't stop just because we are on the right path.

SOPHISTICATED

How wonderful it is when this is part of an experience. So very satisfying if it means you feel the joy from something that flows naturally without any problems.

And on a spiritual levels for me this means something focused more on truth than traditions. An event or experience that takes place where the only desire is to bring honor to the Lord.

I still recall when I attended this one church service. And they sung all the right praise hymns.

They said all the right words, but the problem was a feeling of it being a show. Smiles forced, words said by practice and not from the heart.

Things being done out of habit and for show, but not to truly lifting up the Lord. I kept those impressions to myself at the time.

Later the couple we had gone to the service as guests, unfolded a lot of details about what went on in the shadows. Those were the unspoken rules and politics that get played but not seen publicly.

And what a good job they did having created the wonderful illusion of piety and spirituality. If only it had truly been real.

Such is the circus that seems to often get expressed whenever rituals rule a fellowship. When people are servants to practices rather than faith.

This is never a honor to the Lord. For all the masks and all the impressiveness, it is still other than spiritual sophistication.

But then none of this is surprising. None of it the least bit difficult to appreciate. For we do so want our own slice of heaven.

To bad we expect it and seek it on our own terms. That because the sad commentary on our own priorities.

And I don't think that is so unusual. It is the reality for when we have so many issues inside that dominate our thinking.

God can reach into those issues, when we listen to His spirit. It can be painful to have to abandoned our myths for the truth.

To truly see deep into our own motives and when what we do is just for show. How often that is a journey we don't care to make.

Thank goodness we when do listen the joy comes from seeing what really matters.

Serenity's Psalm

How gentile is the breath of God's love
that lifts me as a leaf upon the wind to His living sanctuaries
where stately pines rise as towering fingers in silent praise,
their scent so soothing to my mind as a calming balm.

Submersed in inviting lake of serenity's supplication,
flowing within as a psalm of faith from the splendor refreshing,
turquoise sky mesmerizes with tranquility's soar above any cares
that in this scenic stillness comes as joy's sweetest surrender.

At peace upon the rustic altar His Spirit built within my soul
for a merciful pause in chaos, feeling the bond between sinner and His grace

EVIDENCE

Being able to confirm something with our senses can be so important at times. There is so much the gets tossed around that is mere speculation.

And if it is something we want to believe, all the easy it is to accept without prove. There is such a fine line in that regard.

It is so easy to have the times when we don't want to accept something is true even if it is, so we demand so much proof. Whereas if we think it makes sense, then no problem.

And that is the weakness within. The bias we forge by our own prejudices. And how often it makes so much sense.

I remember reading once about this one corporation that changed executive management. The brought in a crew with accounting backgrounds.

The supervisors who actually did the work and understood the business told them how they need to upgrade their machines and equipment. Well the response was to require a report.

The author was careful to point out that this was intended as a stall technique meant to stall the change. In the end, the upgrade was made, but only a fraction of the needed changes.

In the end the company suffered because the lack of real change kept them from keeping pace with the competition. They just ended up when things got too bad and lost enough business finally doing all the upgrades, but at a lot higher costs.

How often it is that we can approach the Lord on such a level. He gives us His word and all the truths.

But we filter it through our own desires and needs. Thus avoiding facing when it is saying what is other than what we want.

Sort of like with prayer. Sometimes we can seek God's answers, but really want it to be what we want.

And if the answer is not the same, we ignore it or pretend that what we understood is wrong. Which never gets us the desired results.

For the Lord will show us truth. The evidence abounding in His word. Only we may not quite like it when it is other than our preference.

To trust in God and obey His word means accepting His will. That can be a challenge if it is other than our choice.

May be always be willing to see the evidence that is really there.

FRAIL

There are all kinds of strength. And outward form of iron will impress, but it doesn't mean it is on the inside.

Feelings are often such an easy form of frailty. A strong and valiant warrior can be crippled by them in some cases.

Perception often deludes the mind with the value of facades. We see what we want to see.

Which is never the same as what brews inside. Oh the mouth may try to hide the flaws. How the words spew forth with fake metal.

Confidence is a good thing. But false confidence never improves a thing. I only gets added to the problem later.

Time proves what is truly durable. It will validate if what is underneath is truly strong or weak.

The person of faith does not need to lie about the frail side of life. For God will empower as He desires.

And thus the iron inside is never the issue. We don't have to be filled with perfection to please Him.

And He can change anyone in a heartbeat. Normally, He doesn't work that fast though. However He can.

What is important is not to dwell on the flaws. To not allow them to become an excuse. How often we let that happen.

Instead we need to embrace them. To live them to the Lord for His help. Never stop accepting our need for such help.

For in that, through the absence of pride and arrogance. He can do so much more. We keep ourselves balanced in the process.

I always enjoy how often God is able to do the impossible with people. How often the Lord will single out some unlikely candidate to serve His purposes.

And those filled with pride will often be offended by such choice. It will aggravate and produce envy.

Sadly when this happens in churches it leads to wounding. Which is always other than His will.

Sad it is when miracles die out of hate.

ASCENSION

Hope
is the rainbow
that arches
vision's pathways
over life's storms.

It reveals reverie's isles
in any wilderness,
brings a heart
to epiphany's paradise,
lush in healing foliage of insight,
instead of despair's thorns.

IMPORTANT

It is Sunday night. I am at work and doing the same thing I have done for years on Sunday nights.

The eve is long and most of it is spent alone. Not in the limelight or with lots of variety. It is predictable and most of the time uneventful.

Yet it is also the vehicle that provides my income and the time alone is there for giving me the added occasion to create. Does any of that lead to glory, fame or riches?

Up to now, no. Tomorrow, I have no idea. I just know that I have to endure because it is the path the Lord set before me.

There are times it is less full of joy than others. Occasions when it other than fill with the luster of expectation.

Tonight is one of those situations. So I sit and write, watch a DVD and try to keep the pace as I know is necessary.

And in the process there is a lingering of satisfaction's flame. The light of God's spirit that shines into my night and reminds me of what is important.

Faith is the path of salvation, but faithfulness truly is the steps that must be followed to keep along the trail. And sometimes it doesn't get the same attention.

One can relish in those moments when a trail is less that exciting, but we are comforted in our quietness. For while the times of pure test may be the evidence of faith, the times of doing things because we are suppose to are important too.

To be a flash of faith in one incident, but then never take a moment of faithfulness afterwards. This is never a blessing.

At least in terms of being truly beneficial. It is so easy to have a moment of inspiration and never endure.

Without the daily pilgrimage the gold of one incident fades and evaporates. How sad it is to see the faces that only last for a day.

Whatever victory the moment can claim by an act of faith can quickly disappear if no faithfulness follows. Yet, faith is require too.

Just doing something without any belief is not of value either. That would really not be the same either.

It is a delicate balance we must strike in our walk. And how hard it can be to follow, yet so easy with the Lord's help.

LIGHT'S RENEWAL

The candle burns the day exhausted, night swallows your star. We stand in confusion, where did it go?

Did the Lord stop shining on our life? Being rejected by the world does sting. It never feels good.

But it is nothing compared to the feel if one thinks God has turned His face against you. There is no worst darkness for a believer that to lose the hope of eternity.

It can gut you of any strength or passion. To look upon the world from the view of heaven is to feel buffered by the present.

And it is at times when we think we done something so totally disappointing to the Lord that we have no chance of forgiveness. This is what truly is a time when we have to be able to remember the truth.

Satan will beat a person to death with such details if given a chance. One little crack in our spiritual armor and he will try to drive a major wedge.

I know right now I am struggling with a situation that has me in a deep sense of sadness. And that is not a time of joy.

First challenge it so be honest. Don't pretend the feelings don't exist. That only makes things worse.

Then the important part is to take it to the Lord. Let His spirit minister to the anxiety. This brings His light.

Sometimes understanding gives peace. And then to the Lord will often lead a person to a place where encouragement can be found.

So one just has to first let the Lord stop the fire. Then came come the time of healing. Or the time of seeing the truth.

Does it mean this will never happen again? No. The passages often follow this journey more that once.

And each journey means more chance to see the light of what we discover about ourselves. A chance to grow in our inner light.

But that is something that only occurs in time. And this means one can't expect instant solutions.

I sure wish that was the option. But it never is. So instead we must be willing to wait on the Lord's timing. I didn't say it will make me happy. Just that we know it is part of the journey.

SIDES

Those places where we find ourselves when life takes out a journey beyond the normal. A side road towards a destination you are not clear as to the reason for its existence.

How often we venture to that location still full of questions. Ever asking why, but still walking anyway.

When time offers no answers, when our passage loses the flavor of zeal, it is the understanding we have the matters. For faith's wisdom will control our steps.

But does it always? No. For it is often a case of still not being sure. Faith is never perfect walk.

And we are not its pillar of confidence. So we travel with our imperfections. Find the journey difficult and awkward.

If we are truly honest and willing to accept that is our real essence. In that journey there is the mantel of grace to keep us warm.

And it does get dirty. It does get torn. But it will still cover us if we allow it to and keep going.

The danger come when we set standards that God never establish. Insert some group of rules to make it all an issue of will.

Oh my how that is so appealing. How it truly does give us the illusion of being in control, which we never are.

But inside it is how we see it. How we try hold onto to semblance of sanity. To gaze into any situation and make sense out of it.

Still we are human. And being human does not keep us from making mistakes. Hopefully can cling to the reality of grace in the process.

It is the hope that heals. The light in our darkness. The memory of how we walked before, stumbled and still survived.

Faith is not the absence of imperfections. Neither is it a void in doubt. What it is includes the willingness to keep moving.

And that only happens with the Lord's help. His spirit empowering when nothing else will keep us going.

For that we can be grateful. And for that we can savor the joy that with His continued help we will reach our destination.

Even if it is along a side road.

CAROLS

Symphony of lost wings
rising from orphanages,
shouts to Christmas angel.

She weeps tears
of divine love,
her burden
carried with joy
touching each tender heart
feeling abandoned
with a carol of hope.

Leaving a kiss
from mother,
watching in heaven,
God's presents
for lives
whose gifts
are left opened.

NORTH

North to me has always been associated with up in some ways. And that is I suppose because it is the top of the earth.

North to me in that sense is the place where our ideal might lie. It is the pinnacle of our dreams.

The rendezvous point with our greatest desires. Naturally, as with so many things, God is sovereign over its domain.

And we of course do often make up our one tales to add to the mystery and appeal of such places. Even if we prefer the myth to the Lord's truth.

Far easier to think of North Pole and Santa Claus than an altar of faith where we are tested instead of getting presents. Not quite the same appeal.

Even though we don't necessarily put it in such terms it does become part of our nature. To dress a vision in the garment of fantasy.

Some times it is just part of the human thought process. We need the magic. And if the truth seems to harsh, even more so.

As far as doing it with our lives, that is one thing. We all daydream and imagine a paradise of our own creation.

It is part of our way of coping with life. And that is natural. What gives hope to our situation.

And to move ahead means we also on a spiritual level see the true North provides. To know it is different from our opinions.

The Lord will guide us according to His will to the place that is the real North. The guiding point of purest direction.

But it might not be as appealing or enchanting as the one in our fantasies. Which is not a bad thing.

Only when the scriptures are taught by some who make North out to be only perfect. A heaven and paradise exactly as we dream.

That message will always attract far more than one involving struggle. People would rather have fiction in that regard.

Which is why you know that we have the times when we are brought to some map that reminds where true North can be found. Not always a blessing if you are looking for perfection, but it is the truth. That will always be a more beneficial oasis than our deceptions.