Koinonia - Devoted Christian Lindbeck

"Flex" Hold the Rope: Missions Month - Hans Erchinger-Davis, Yvonne Cartwright, Christian Lindbeck

Shattered lives,
hollowed out souls; 
empty eyes
shadowed with shame;
welcome.
Caught in the downdraft
eddying slow,
here's my hand;
welcome.

Success is not what you think it is:
jailing and torture,
deprivation,discrimination,
isolation,
are the seeding grounds
for growth.

Do not seek trouble
but flex with it;
look with new eyes,
adapt.

Trust 
and adjust.

Consider. Jessica Mumley

Galations Series Revelation 4-5 Tim Knipp

Transformed: Easter 2020 - Christian Lindbeck

Suspended between heaven and earth,

between God and man,

splayed like an insect,

pinned,

excoriated,

spat on;

serrated breaths

catch and snag,

carpal bones grind,

tarsals strain.

His beloved head

drips crimson sweat,

His eyes blur with torment,

His heart lacerated

by betrayal,

denial

and viscous hate.

Yet He summoned strength

to whisper, “Forgive them”

and offer hope to an expiring thief,

like Him,

condemned to a slow,

cruel death

upon an

intersection of

splintered wood.

Yet today,

this tool of torture

and intimidation,

like swords into ploughshares

is transformed,

rehabilitated –

its ugly associations shattered.

Two intersecting beams

become shorthand,

a universal symbol

of hope.

The crux imissa

becomes the Cross of Christ.

Transformed

as we are when we see Him newly raised,

whether in a graveside garden,

daubed in dew;

along a footpath to Emmaus,

or crouched beside a beach fire,

picking fish bones from his teeth.

From life

to death

to life: the sequel,

transformation and renewal

have been His goal.

All nature echoes this motif:

winter melts to spring,

each dawn is born anew;

narcissus bulbs burst forth

in heady abundance

despite a fearful virus

on the loose.

As the seed sprouts in dark soil –

crucified with Christ –

so death produces life –

I no longer live but Christ lives in me.

As rotting vegetation

leeches nutrients to enrich the earth –

united with Him in death –

new life springs heavenward –

united with Him in resurrection.

Transformed.

Renewed.

Hallelujah!

True Worth: Galatians series - Tim Knipp (Gal. 6)

To be held in high esteem
we strive daily,
whether earned or feigned,
the goal remains:
to avoid abasement
and ridicule,
to maintain a firm grasp
of our self-perceived selves
though the outlines tremble.

Yet all that
is shifting smoke -
see it waver, fade,
dissolve.

The only honor 
worth clinging to
is what Christ did for me.
I no longer need 
the world's esteem -
that false measuring stick
that zeroed out my Lord
and tried to color Him shamed
by an obscene 
and ignominious end.

He, and He alone
can set my value
because He fooled them
by having power
even over death.
He clothed Himself
with our shame -
yours and mine -
then ripped it from Him
and rose
to claim His well-deserved
throne.

Today, once again
foundations have shifted.
Identities have proved translucent,
no longer holding sway
and we wonder 
who we are
apart from familiar constructs.

Yet Paul reminds us:

Trust not in yourself
or your reputation or riches
but in Christ's life,
His death
and resurrection.
Everything about Him 
declares our worth
and as we cling to that,
He transforms us
into diadems --
mirrored fragments --
refractions
of His glory.

Shine on.

Choosing the True: Galatians series - Christian Lindbeck (Gal. 13: 19-24)

We sing to you, oh, Mighty One.

Listen between breaths
to the whispers
that sing sibilantly
and coax us
into a deeper love,
into a closer and closer
facsimile
of Christ.

We know that ugly
behavior
results in ruin
and destruction -
seeded as it is 
by licentiousness
and selfish desire.

Put it aside.

You are recognized
as His own
when you choose 
love. joy. peace.
and all that flows
from these.

Let everything else
fall way
and grasp His hand -
unseen and impalpable
though it may be.
Hold to what you know
is True.

The True is
solid as a fortified tower
rising up
in the desert;
no fleeting mirage
nor subject to
whims of erosion
from the siroccos 
of time.

It is more true
than all that 
I hold dear in this life;
more true 
than all that I count on
daily
to delight,
sustain, and
color my life.

The Truth 
is greater than
all I fear,
see how it endures
in spite of me.

If I turn my back
on Truth
and choose my self,
wreckage 
will trail in my wake.

If I chose the True,
even though I stumble,
sweet fruit will bud
and grow within me.

As I walk
with uncertain
toddler steps,
I will try to match mine
to the imprints
of the Spirit,
see them embedded
in sand,
one by steadfast
one. 

Listen. Love. : Galatians series - Tim Knipp (Gal. 5:13-18)

Listen.
Listen.
Past the chatter of self
and me, me, me;
still the flesh-based 
demands.
Listen
to the Spirit -
the string attached
to the kite
of Jesus.
Feel the tug.
Let it pull you forward.

Close down the natterings
and panic posts,
the accusations
and irritants;
not by anesthetizing
but by bathing
in the Spirit.

If you listen,
you'll hear whispers
of love amid 
the bird song.

The antidote to self-absorption
and paranoia
is not grasping and
hording but
giving,
openhanded.

Lay aside the smothering
blankets of fear
and the noxious fumes
of greed.
Rise up 
to serve
in love.

The One who loves
each one of us,
who suffered
and suffers
with and for us 
can teach us how
if we
listen.
If we love.

Walk On: Galatians series - Christian Lindbeck (Gal. 5:1-13)

Free to be free
from burdens and chains.
Unpack these,
lay them down
and walk on.
Free to reject
destructive impulses
and rebellious tantrums.
Free to grow strong
and abundantly
fruitful.

Tell the truth,
get it out there:
none of us can earn it
but this amazing gift is ours
when we admit our failings
and believe
that Christ
is enough.

Simply stated,
divinely intricate.

Stepping across the line
from dark to light,
bound to free -
we stumble as those who
have sea legs on land.

Trust what you know -
not what you feel -
and walk on.

When ugliness rises to 
consciousness,
call it what it is,
offer it to Him
and trust that together
you can handle it.

Don't deny what you see
inside, but don't allow 
it to bind you, 
weaving among your legs
like smothering vines
to trip you up.
Forgive yourself
and others,
choose love always
and walk on.

How fragile we are,
yet we only grow stronger
by consistent awareness
of our frailty.
Remember that He 
knows us
through and through.
He sees our subterfuge
and downright snarkiness,
our broken and stunted natures,
and yet
He loves us 
as we are.
He offers a hand
each time we stumble
if we only reach up 
and take it.
He will forgive us,
teach us
and use us
as we stick close 
to His side
and
walk on.

Trust It; Galations series: Life in the Spirit - Tim Knipp

Master-crafted 
to reflect -
to deflect attention 
from ourselves -
we were form
without substance
until His Holy breath
in-spired us.

You have been conned
into a lie -
to think you could earn
the precious gift
of the indwelling Spirit
with human effort!
Did this amazing transformation -
the consummation
of flesh and Spirit -
come from
a man-made source,
or was it
a gift, dropped 
into your upheld hands?

Science is majestically
complex and intriguing
but falls short
of explaining
the excessive
beauty and intricate
designs like
signatures of a Master-hand.

Multiple spirit paths
lead many to higher planes,
yet all but one
eventually dead-end
in the maze
of Truth.

One path,
one gate -
not entered by accomplishments
or earned by brownie points,
but gifted
freely.

Christ died
to satisfy the curse
and fulfill the promise -
bringing the master plan
full circle:
the same breath 
that spoke galaxies
into motion
wants to enter
into all who believe.
Dry bones
animated,
in-spired.

Trust it.

Lay down striving

and simply marvel
at the miraculous gift
strewn upon us
like diamonds
glittering on the
water.

Trust it. 
Live into it.
Christ in
you.

Gen. 1:27; Gal. 3:1-14

Identify; Galations: Life in the Spirit - Jessica Mumley

Who is this face in the mirror?
These days I wonder
as the ground shifts
and things I thought
were stable
lie in ruins.

My shadow stretches
and flexes,
both wider
and more insubstantial
than ever.

Shaken,
I look for something stable
to ground me.

Peter had an earthquake moment
when he stopped celebrating
with non-Jews,
putting up obstacles
for many to trip over.

Paul's response?
This is so old school!
Put off the old 
measuring sticks
and don't ever pick 
them up again.
All that matters now
is that Christ died
and rose for each
one of us.
That's it.
Not rituals,
secret handshakes
or adherence to 
a complex set of rules.
If we could earn it
by effort
we wouldn't need Christ
and His death 
would be useless.

Remove the roles
we layer on 
to hide our nakedness.
Lay them down,
though we shiver
and quake
or we will never know
the skin-to-skin
intimacy
and our absolute
dependence
on Him.

I can list my qualifications,
all I've achieved
and overcome,
all I've held onto
and used to prop me up,
but all of this
is worse than useless,
no more than dung
on the bottom of my feet
compared to
knowing Christ.

I lay down my right
to hold onto anything stable
except my identity
in Christ.
Then, and only then,
can I really live
in a new dimension,
multi-layered
and intensely richer -
watch it shimmer
as it filters through
my spread 
fingers.

Gal. 2:11-13;19-21; Matt. 10:39; Phil. 3:4-5

No Borders: Galatians Series; Life in the Spirit - Tim Knipp

What matters is what
did not happen
when I checked in
with leaders
of the new church.

Daily life as usual in Galatia
had gone on 
pretty much the same 
with minor variations
until I arrived
with my 
mind-shifting news.
It was my privilege
to convert and baptize
hordes of you
before moving on.

As could be expected,
your reorientation
disrupted the daily rituals
and practices
you once cooperated with.
Many misunderstood
and whispered,
darting glances
like arrows.
Unlike exempted Jews,
your denial 
of pagan rites
could be seen as treason.
So you were ripe
for partial truths
disguised as answers:
"Three steps to exemption-status!"
"Do this and be safe!"

But beware
the forked tongues
that obscure deeper truths -
as if you could earn
God's favor and protection
by symbolic acts.
He is not a pagan god
who requires
sacrifice and outward 
exhibitions
before blessings
are yours.

When I presented 
my work before 
the disciples -
that of preaching
salvation by grace
and grace alone 
to the Gentiles -
I was applauded.
Not a word 
was spoken
about converts
needing to become
Jewish.
They understood
what you have not:
that all people are welcomed
into God's family now -
all skin colors, family origins,
linguistic variations
and cultures -
there are no borders
in the Christian kingdom
and visas are granted
to all who believe,
without qualification.

So do not be tripped up
by cultural preferences
disguised as requirements.
Open wide your arms
and embrace the 
holistic good news
and your kin
who may look,
speak and approach
worship differently
but who are your
brothers and sisters
nonetheless. 

Galatians 2: 1-10