Take Courage; Isaiah: Light to the Nations - Tim Knipp (Isa. 7:1-9)

Newly ruling, young and green,
he faced an invading force
with quaking knees.
Squeezed on all sides
by swarming hordes,
the people quailed 
and cried.

Fear is a solid force,
an enemy from within,
sometimes boldly grasping territories
and often sending small sorties
relentlessly,
night after night.

A message comes:
guard your heart,
don't worry or fret,
take courage.
Acknowledge your fear
but don't let it guide you.
What you fear
will not come to pass -
I, the Lord, am your only refuge,
if you trust in Me.

Choose trust over fear,
hope over despair,
your God over yourself.
Listen, listen,
and you will hear
the quiet voice 
of your Creator.
Look, look
to the One who wrestled
in Gethsemane,
fighting fear
in hand-to-hand combat
and ultimately chose
to trust His Father -
even unto death.

It may not all work out
but you will not walk alone.
When the torrents come
you will have a solid foothold,
a place to stand
that will not move.
Though the mountains tremble,
the enemies gather
howling for your blood,
stare fear in the face
and take courage
from knowing
with Whom 
you stand.

Glimmers of Hope: Isaiah Light to the Nations - Christian Lindbeck (Isa. 6:1-8; 1 John 3:1-2)

To see a flash of future,
astonishing in scope
and to alter the present 
accordingly -
this is purpose personified.

Am I aimed and readying myself
for what's to come?
Do I listen long and lingeringly
for daily direction and
do it?

Such a sight did Isaiah see:
the King and his entourage entire,
fantastical in full color
and epic in size -
no temple could contain
such majesty!
Flaming figures, shimmering
with white hot purity,
whose voices 
reverberated in triune
worship -
"holy, holy, holy!"
The material world
vibrated violently
and he fell prostrate,
overwhelmed with an
acute awareness
of fault and failure.
Then a burning one
brought fire to Isaiah's lips;
his sin sizzled,
vanishing in a molten kiss. 
Still half-fainting from
the sensation of 
loss as gain,
when the King 
called for recruits,
Isaiah raised his hand
saying, "Me! Take me!"

Sights like these are granted to few, 
but we can see wonders too.
Such amazing love He has for us,
calling us His children
and friends!
For now, we are unsure
and unsteady,
but one day, we too,
will see Him in the flesh.
He will not be as He was on earth,
but we will behold
the glorious technicolor
and artistry of movement, texture,
depth and delicacy,
poetry and power,
that is His essential essence.
This, is my target,
my hope
and ultimate truth,
the prism through which I view:
irritating personalities,
unforeseen setbacks,
health and relational concerns, 
in fact, all that my days bring.

So even when I am wandering 
in the dark,
stumbling over uncertainties,
fearful of earth's future
and dismayed by governmental
ineptitude,
I can see a glimmer
in the distance
that keeps me stumbling on,
ever hopeful
and 
unashamed.

Hannah Dreblow - 1 Cor. 10:31, Col. 3:17- For the Glory of God

Be who God created, only.

Knowing who I am and who who I am not.

Do everything the very best way I know how,

Working hard.

By this I give God glory.

And rest well.

Advent 4 - Tim Knipp Luke 2

Who am I? Advent: Light to the Nations series - Christian Lindbeck (Luke 1;3;15)

Numbing noise,
lights,
flashing and 
inconsequential,
pointing at 
anything 
and nothing.
Holy whispers
drowned
in fa-la-la's
and
ho-ho-ho's.

Culture seems 
coordinated to
keep us from
pondering
who we are
and
why we are -
telling us 
our most important
identity is
consumer
of goods.

Find a quiet place.
Shut the door.
And listen.

John, the desert 
rock star,
knew who he was
and why.
Born to parents,
prepared through postponement;
patient
and prayerful.
His father's response to his
nascent birth
sprinkled prophecies
and promises
foreign as green smoke
curling and tumbling
from astonished lips.

The long-awaited child
learned obedience,
Torah
and Hebraic stories;
rocked to sleep
with lullabies of lions
and lordly lambs,
he grew.

In manhood, 
his earthy charisma
gathered crowds
ready to idolize
but John said,
"Wait!
I am not he."

"Then who are you?"
the deflated ones
cried,
and fired off a 
series of possible
roles for this
obvious gift
from God.

"I am not"s 
dropped like 
stones in a well,
echoing and 
plummeting
down
to a far off
splash
of incomprehension.

"Then who are you?"

Again.

I am the finger,
pointing.
The arrow drawn,
the road sign
illuminated
to point the way.

Born for this,
and this alone,
he shunned fame
and adulation,
knowing 
both were two sizes
too large.

And when Christ
appeared,
he served as His
emcee
and bowed off
center stage.

When followers 
fell away,
he flinched not,
but cheered
from the wings.

He knew his calling
and clung to his role
with tenacity
worthy of the lowly
barnacle.
Set free from abundant choices,
his narrowed vision
allowed scalpel-like
precision.

Can I do the same?
Accept who and what I am
without comparison,
envy, or what ifs?
No facades or 
impossible standards
to strive for;
the narrow door
the way to 
a larger life?

Let me find a quiet place
to hear Your voice.
Let me accept who and
where I am with grace.
And help me let go
of all that I am not,
quieting the cacophony
of false prophets
who would make me
dance to some 
other tune,
not of Your 
composing. 
Help me hear
Your holy whispers
and know peace
in the present.

Exquisite Dawn: Advent : Light to the Nations - Tim Knipp (Isa. 8 and 9)

Backs turned to light,
walking in shadows
cast by their own stubbornness,
they slowly starve
to skeletal
caricatures.

When we scavenge
for life-giving nutrients
among the stagnant pools 
existing outside of God's light -
in body lust;
in vain adulation
and superficial social reputations -
rage, voiced or mutely expressed,
scars our thin-skinned souls
like razor-wire.

Our world is bombarded
with twisted shards 
of broken mirrors
reflecting rebellious frisson
as they fall
to slice and 
impale.

Yet, in the distance
arises an exquisite dawn,
joy will blossom
in frozen hearts,
melting chains,
swords and implements 
of destruction,
to be re-crafted
as vehicles of justice.

A child is birthed
in sweat and blood;
a one-of-a-kind King
whose kingdom will bring
balance to a world
off-kilter.
He will reign through
space and time,
unlimited by any restraints.
We will call Him
Amazing Friend,
Indisputable Sovereign,
Abba Father,
His Highness 
of Harmony.

Hope in human form,
shaped as we are
yet more than us -
the missing puzzle piece
in perfect dimensions
to fill the gaping hole
torn in the fabric
of our world.
Perfect goodness personified,
He whom we have yearned for
is among us now in spirit
and will return one day
in the flesh
to eradicate injustice,
obliterate the oppressors
and set free
those who languish
in dark and pestilential 
prisons,
both seen
and unseen.

Rejoice!
Rejoice!
 
 

Advent - Christian Lindbeck Isaiah 11:1-9