Sunday December 27, 2015

God Steps In (It's a Meaningful Life series) - Tim Knipp (Matt. 1:18-25)

Stepping into
a noir world,
God points the way.
Light removes some shadows
while deepening others.

Everything has
a shadow side.

Fractured lives
wound with their
sharp, jagged edges
and can only be healed
through
death and blood.
Salvation
absolves past eclipses
by paying 
the price.

In the day-to-day
we struggle with our 
flip side,
or give in to it,
or deny that we 
even have a shadow.
Jesus offers a hand,
a shoulder,
a presence
to keep us from stumbling
more than necessary.
He promises reformation
of our twisted hearts
as we follow Him.

In our walk towards death
we so often walk
blindfolded and quaking.
Yet 
Jesus offers new life
as we step through 
that door
and into His
forever
presence.

Continually needing rescue,
we walk
on wounded feet
through darkened streets.
Light glimmers -
a faint path.
We follow, limping,
but hope-filled.

Immortal Love, Carlo Furlan "It's a Meaningful Life" series (John 1)

At the start
of all things -
JesusGod.
He set time in motion,
swirled universes
into existence
and breathed
life
into man.
JesusGod
crafted us
for his good pleasure,
not for the quiet desperation
of isolated units.

Bombarded with messages
to buy,
gorge
and drown
the longing for connection,
we struggle 
to be real.
The God-shaped hole
aches
to be filled,
our hearts restless
until we find You
and
fit together
like the missing piece of 
a jigsaw puzzle,
satisfyingly
snapped into place.

All that is 
came from JesusGod.
 All.
Every mind-boggling
particle
of this amazing creation -
beauty trembling
in a dewdrop
and reverberating
in a note of crystalline
music -
comes to us
from His hands.

Humans are the epitome
of His masterwork -
fractured though
we may be,
yet shot through
with glory.
May we see each other
with new eyes
this season -
immortal sparks
reflecting JesusGod,
sprinkled
with salty grace.

And We Came to Rome - Brady Bobbink (Acts 28)

The ocean journey
concluded,
a new chapter begins.
Letter-writing ensues -
missals sent
throughout the known world.
Paul's mission
flourishes,
even in chains.

What is the rest 
of my story?

All stories end
but how they end
is an open question.
Some great starts 
get sidetracked;
and some just plod along,
head down,
kicking up only dust.
Others finish early 
in a brilliant flash
and others
run the marathon well
and finish with
honor.
To be in this category
one needs a vision -
a far away reference point
to fixate on.

How do I want to end?
What epitaph will 
sum me up,
carved in solid stone?

Once the end is seen,
I must work step by step
to make it true.
Press on.

Marathons require
stamina,
perseverance,
pacing
and strength.
Daily intake of sacred space;
intential binding to others
who will cheer me on
while challenging me 
to push harder;  
reining in my appetites
and excercising
wariness about 
every emotion;
all of these will see 
me through.
I must see myself
clearly for the flawed
creature I am,
knowing that within
each of us
lies the potential
fatal flaw,
simmering in secret.

I must cultivate
gratitude
for every breath
I'm given,
fight the good fight,
finish well.

God's Plan Overcomes - Tim Knipp (Acts 27)

Conflicts and obstacles
block the way -
seeming impassable.

A sea journey
in the company of soldiers
and hardened 
criminals
leapfrogs along the coast,
facing fierce winds
and glowering skies.
A hurricane buffets the boat
away from the shores of Crete
and tosses it south
and west.
Creaking lumber strains
and pops
as the vessel heads toward
infamous sand bars.
Waterlogged grain is ditched
in despair,
masts dismantled;
the ship founders,
adrift
and blinded,
tossed like kindling
among gigantic troughs
of waves.
Hope drowns slowly
as day
follows day.

Into their despair,
Paul speaks
a message from God
promising salvation.

Starving and wearied
beyond belief,
in the black of night
they near land.
Calming soldiers, 
criminals and crew alike,
Paul urges food,
prays
and eats.

All take courage and feed.

Later the ship
strikes sand
and all
make it to land,
just as Paul's God
had promised.

In the face of dire
circumstances
and seeming
impossibilities,
God's plan
cannot
be
thwarted.

Not My Own - Carlo Furlan (Praxis Series - Acts 20)

Money matters.
Burdened with debt
we argue over,
strive for
and
idealize
wealth.

Once accumulated,
we grasp it close,
unwilling to let
anything slip through
our sweaty
fingers.

Beware the greed
masquerading as ambition.
Beware the wolves
who slip in
between the sheep
and the shepherd.

Remember the cost
paid
for your redemption
and be satisfied
with
your bottom line
but dissatisfied
with
the hurting world. 

Gracious giving
benefits the giver
immeasurably.
No thing is mine.
"I am not my own,
but belong, 
body and soul
to my Lord,
Jesus Christ."

Money is not
worth my love
for it is an untrustworthy
suitor,
promising contentment
but
never paying up.

At the Center, Tim Knipp

All is connected
to all.
Wolves change rivers
and 
molecules dance.

God is three
in one.

Three persons,
one God.

Connections abound.
Sparks shoot
and hum across 
the universe -
love lines
connecting
the Three.
United in
compassion toward 
the broken,
anger toward sin,
and
longing for 
connection
with you and I.

At the center
of it all:
relationship.

Prayer - Carlo Furlan, Acts 18 & 2 Cor. 1:8

Intimacy -
close and warm,
rough and awkward -
tightly bound.
A personal God.
Not a guarantee for
easy living
or the absence of pain
but 
a close-hugging presence,
always there.

Encouraging words
spoken into the darkness
can sustain us -
if only we can hear them 
through our lamentations.

Despair happens.
Overwhelming circumstances 
happen.
Death happens.
Yet we continue
to hope
and pray
and ask for prayer.

Prayer is a mystery,
waves of words
washing the shore
again and again
with no apparent result
at times.
Yet the God who has power
to raise the dead
can hear us
when we call.
So I will call
and hope
and
be 
encouraged.

Dynamic Word - Tim Knipp, Acts 18

Into a whirlwind of
loose living,
spiritual blindness
and
licentious lechery,
Paul set up camp.
Day by day
he toiled with words,
reasoning
and challenging,
teaching the story
of Christ crucified.
In synagogues
and on street corners,
he spoke
and cajoled -
unwilling to be silenced
because
God's word was an
active, living fire
burning through him
and into their lives.

That dynamic word
continues to speak
today
directly and personally
to you and I.

"Bothered by the Lost," Kellie Gamble; Praxis series (Acts 17:16-34)

In Athens then
and here and now,
the spiritual world
seethes
and
titillates -
the curious
taste-test
at a buffet of options.
Intellectual debates
champion
various ideas.
Some earnestly seek truth
and others joust
and spar
with words to simply
show off their
academic status.

"The called"
are bothered
by the lost,
groping in the dark.
Each idol
falsely chosen
burdens the heart.
One who is called
steps into the
river of culture,
polluted though it may be,
speaks to the
misplaced desires
and
affirms the intent.

Knowing the culture,
reading their books,
listening to their questions -
those spoken
and tacit -
must come first.

Look for connections
and intersections -
touch points
that can lead to
the sharing of Truth
in big
and little
doses.

Some truth is hard to swallow
and to speak,
but must be spoken.
Words are seeds to sow,
some will shrivel
and some
take root.

Essential as Air; Praxis series - Tim Knipp (Acts 16)

Truth -
essential
as air.

It resonates with
the successful,
upright Lydia
who needs freedom
from the illusion
of self-sufficiency.
Her open heart recieves.
She breathes.

It obsesses the slave girl
possessed by a spirit,
coiled like a snake
around her heart.
She needs freedom
inside and out -
a breaking of locks.
Imperfect Peter
unleashes power
that shatters
her shackles
in the name of Christ.

It touched the stolid jailer,
over-muscled,
disciplined,
with a heart of stained
steel.
The jailer needs his
expectations 
overturned,
his charred past
washed clean.
 He reaches hands,
fingernails gummed with
his victim's blood,
to grasp salvation,
then tenderly nurses
wounds
with those same
hands.

Truth.
Essental as air
to each
and
all.

Tim Knipp - PRAXIS

Lydia, high end successful fashionista. Self-made and self sufficient meets her sufficiency.

Just Jesus, Carlo Furlan - Praxis series (Acts 15)

Confrontation swirls -
words sharpened
and hurled -
yet reason prevails...
momentarily.

Flesh cutting advocates
are not sadistic monsters,
but well-intentioned
believers
who appreciate
the parameters of the Law.

Yet Peter descibes a new law,
a new way:
beauty will rise from ashes.

Don't make it difficult
for people who are
turning to God.

We are so good
at adding conditions
and clauses
to Grace,
yet
we would be the first
to complain
if handed a sixty pound
backpack at the door. (Matt. 23:4)

What sort of welcome 
is this?
What reflection
does this show
of God's heart?

Is this a club
that only the well-bathed,
well-behaved
and monochromatic 
may attend?

Would Jesus be welcomed
in such a place?

Life - full life -
is what He offers,
not a life of dry regulations
and a backpack
overloaded with
guilt
and do's 
and don't's.

Just Jesus 
plus nothing
equals Grace.

Tim Knipp - PRAXIS

In the middle of my mess, I am not alone. He is with me. He takes my hand and rescues me.

An Unexpected Place; Praxis series - Tim Knipp (Acts 11:19-30)

From rural Galilee
to the center of the 
Roman world, 
Christianity spreads...
the question is: how?

Anioch -
a thriving metropolis by the sea,
sprouting wealth
and religions -
flowers and fruit
overgrown with weeds.

Refugees cast up 
on the streets of this
cosmopolis
strew seeds with news
of the carpenter king.

Non-Jews,
non-"Chosen"
nonetheless grab hold 
of Truth tenaciously.
But the soil is shallow
and needs fortifying.
Sleeves rolled up,
Paul and Barnabas
dig in
and lay the foundations,
toiling for a year.

When financial disaster
looms,
the spirit of generosity
blooms -
a crop of caring -
evidence of deep-rooted faith.

A flourishing garden
in an 
unexpected place,
influencing and
feeding multitudes
near and far.

Carlo Furlan

History of UCM - Brady Bobbink

Responding Wisely to Change - Praxis Series (Brady Bobbink) Acts 6-8

Wings fill with the Spirit;
some soar,
while others are tossed
onto the fire
in a "faith-filled death."

Yet we must trust
the air
and let it lead us.

"All change is 
experienced as loss..."*

Transitions tear
and unsettle,
we must tread
with care.
Grounded  people
regain equilibrium
quickest
after a shaking.
Situational people
are shallow
and easily toppled.
The easy life
is poor training
for a changing world.

The Sistine masterpiece
was created
over long stretches of time
and agonizing effort,
but what beauty remains!

Drive-thru faith
will never provide
nutritional value
or sustain us
for the long haul.
Fleeing hurt
can cause the anger
to petrify
into cancerous growths
that gnaw the soul.
Facing transitions 
bravely
takes the long view.
Look for the good
that will eventually come
to light.
If you cannot
glimpse it yet,
trust that you will.
Lean on the Spirit
and make 
lemonade from
the lemons of
change.

*John Zimmerman

Community - Praxis Series; Brady Bobbink (Acts 6:1-7)

Fractures cause frisson
when the scales of justice
tilt.
Unequal measures
display favoritism
and the ugly seed
of discrimination 
sprouts.
Set patterns of thinking
and status boundaries
threaten to destroy
community.

Take a look at my heart, Lord.
Root out the weeds
of cultural
and habitual barriers
that choke
Your work.

Servants fill needs
and give structure
to community.
Servanthood is earned:
they must be
without reproach,
spirit vessels
and wisdom practicers.

Grow in depth.
Set down roots
that spread
and feed on 
His Word.

Courage (Praxis Series) Tim Knipp (Acts 4:1-14; Luke 22:52-62)

Be brave 
more than careful.
Be courageous
more than safe.

Resurrection meant
Opposite Day - 
capsizing of the 
status quo.

Brought before the
intimidating elite,
uneducated, backwards
fishermen trembled.
It was the
second time around 
for Peter.
Tasting bitter gall,
he looked his personal fear
in the eyes.
Swallowing,
he spoke the name
of Christ.
His unloosed tongue
trumpeted truth
and craven fear
shuddered
in defeat.
More shadow than 
substance,
fear dissolves
in the light
of courage.
"Do not be afraid"
echoed in Peter's ears
as he stunned the 
priests and elders
to silence.
From cowering
denier
to bold broadcaster,
Peter chose to trust
in the One who
forgave his darkest betrayal;
the One who faced
the grave and triumphed;
the One who filled
Peter with His strength.

We can spread our arms
and lie back
into the supporting arms 
of that same One.

Do I trust Him?

Pocket Change; Praxis series - Christian Anderson (Acts 3:1-10)

People as fixtures:
oddities who 
fill roles - 
flat stereotypes -
the homeless man,
the wounded vet,
the vagrant youth.

Avoiding eye contact,
we hurry by
or
guilt-ridden
dig for spare change
in designer pockets.

Peter looked in
the cripple's eyes -
saw him -
and offered healing
and hope
in Christ's name.
The lame will walk,
the dumb will speak,
the clumsy will dance,
the fractured psyche
will calm -
all will 
leap for joy!

Look into the eyes
that hide behind
grease-straggled hair,
or the stone facades
of hooded teens.

Look.

See.

Then pray.

Focus on the riches
you have in Christ
and dig into
those 
pockets.