Glory Through Smoke: Creed Series – Tim Knipp (Matt. 19:28; Acts 3:21; 1 Cor. 15:20-25; 1 Kings 6:20; Rev. 21)

“I believe in the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting.”

Three billion heartbeats –

then silence.

What next?

A blank white void?

Eternal sleep

with dreams snaking and twitching

their tails

across the rim of

consciousness?

Jesus gave us

a preview

of coming attractions.

    Recycled worlds

           and a dazzling throne;

       restoration of destroyed treasure;

             inanimate bodies

                  re-ignited…

But first He will

annihilate all adversaries,

all forces who wage war

against His dominion.

Will it be the blink of an eye

or a sentient, ongoing drowsiness –

a child seeking sleep

against a parent’s pulse,

aware but comatose?

The mysterious

in-between.

Hang on to the hope

of final joy –

glimpse glory

through smoke

rising over scorched

justice.

Hang on, my child.

Let every heartbeat

throb its full measure

and carry you forward,

inching ever closer

to the final 

delirious

dance.

Ferocious Grace - Creed Series - Christian Lindbeck - Roman's 10:9-10

Broken shards

glued together –

shattered goodness

revived.

Good news:

there is a way

to be clean again!

A way to span the abyss

sin carved between

each of us

and all

of God.

Or is sin a man-made idea,

constructed to manage

and control,

only real if revealed?

David cried out:

Blot out my sin –

shame drains my bones

and shrivels

my strength –

O God,

You see it all

and I have

wounded you,

my Maker.

Created to know

and be known

by God,

to dance in tune

with the Spirit song,

we feel

each lost step.

There is no excuse

or reasoning

that will evaporate

the discordant note

or conceal

the inner darkness

that taints

us all.

We feel it (guilt).

We know it (shame).

We cannot hide.

So here we stand,

broken and flayed open,

every nerve tingling

in awareness of perfidy;

squashed flat

by the burden

of every lie

and broken promise,

words and deeds

as ugly and deadly

as twisted barb wire

pressing down…

And into this state of intense

awareness

He pours His searing mercy,

scalding away the surface scars,

realigning our dented heart,

resuscitating our soul.

We believe…

I believe

in the fact of sin,
in the forgiveness of sin,

in a God of ferocious

grace.

Six Words: Creed series - Tim Knipp (Rom. 8:1-17)

"I believe in the Holy Spirit."

Six words,
terse yet pregnant
with potential.

Three-in-one God:
related, connected
and entwined,
pulsing with ultimate
meaning;
discoverable,
indestructible,
indivisible.

Two choices:
living by flesh
or spirit.
This is the right-now option,
a vital reality.
Living by default
and not purpose,
we fall into lassitude
and deny -
by word and deed -
what we claim
to believe.
We see our reflections
distorted and fragmented
when we live by flesh alone;
when we trust ourselves,
we drown.

One relationship
with three parts
equals adoption;
the overwhelming embrace
of welcome
and daddy-love
we were built for.
The Holy Spirit links
our tiny hand
to the Father's big, warm palm
as we trot alongside
our brother, Christ.

"This is my son/daughter
who pleases me."

Spirit life,
Son gift,
Father love.

Six words.