Sunday, January 26, 2020

Hear Me: Galatians; Life in the Spirit - Christian Lindbeck

Once "chosen" meant "elite -
a designation used as a wall,
a barrier
to keep others outside.
As we pull the wall down,
rejoicing in the influx,
we must grapple 
with new questions:
What happens next
and how do we live now?

Accustomed to 
delineated rules and 
structures outlining
our path,
we now find the way
less clear.
The GPS is now
inside us - 
Spirit-led, we can
find our own way.
This is at once 
less tangible
and more terrifying.

But even so, 
why would you so quickly
fall back 
into a walled city mentality?
You are shaming me
and throwing God's grace
back in His face!

Some people say 
I have no right to preach at you,
as if I am inventing my theology,
ad-libbing as I go along. 
Let me remind you of my credentials:
a lover of God's law to the extreme,
a meeter of Christ Himself,
who called me in person
and trained me one-on-one.
My words are not my own,
but His.
I care not what people think.
These words are not commercialized
to be marketable 
and appealing to the masses -
I speak truth and truth alone.

As zealous as I was 
to eliminate Christianity
as a dangerous sect -
even to the point of murder -
that zealousness has been
chastened but not doused,
redirected to serve God
and Christ
through my knowledge 
of scripture and devotion
to the Messiah
at whatever cost -
even to my very life.

Therefore, please 
hear me.

Gal. 1:6-24; Eph. 36:24-27; Gal. 1

Sunday, January 19, 2020

Welcome the New; Galatian series - Tim Knipp

Once a slayer, notorious and fierce -
blinded by Truth,
now spreader of good news,
Paul writes:
This age is rife with trouble
but Christ has come
into the here and now -
a revolutionary rescue.
The age to come 
is here
and we are living it!

In this combined age
all who believe are welcomed -
all colors, languages, cultures - all.
Living by intricate laws
no longer sanctifies -
there is a new and truer way
to right living.

As God's children,
we can crawl into His lap
and be comforted
by His Father hugs -
imagine that!
Holy spaces are 
where He is
and He 
resides
in us.
The new has come,
the old is gone.

Sunday, January 12, 2020

Aligned Living: Not DIY - Christian Lindbeck

Modification is not transformation.
We can make all
the right moves,
say the right words,
shine up the exterior
to a high gloss
and convince ourselves
and others
that we are finally
good

but
inside,
at the core,
the rotten truth remains.

Yet,
Jesus is enough.
Let Him walk shadow-close,
try to blend in
so you translusce.

Set free from the law
we daily die
and 
rise,
to new life.

Become fertile soil
and let Him seed you.
Watch what will grow.

Turn to Him
moment by moment
and let go the clenched fist,
lay it down
and
die yet again.

This is not
a DIY project,
nor could it 
ever be. 

Col. 3; Eph. 2:10; 1 Pet. 1:5-6; Ps. 1; Ps. 119 among others