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.

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

Depression: Frozen Sadness Carlo and Kellie Furlan 1Kings 19

Come and Take - Christian Castro

Where there's a hole
something's gonna leak through
nothing's gonna fill it up
though we search and search
and search

Where there's a thirst
something needs to fill it up
but it will never be enough
though we drink and drink
and drink

There's a water that will slake
there's nutrition that will fill
come and take and take
and take
There's a water that will slake
there's nutrition that will fill
come and take and take
and take

And once we've had our fill
we need to put aside our past
let go of all that drains
though it hurts it hurts
it hurts

And if we turn to Him
He will never let us down
He will always have our back
though we fail and fail
and fail
 
There's a water that will slake
there's nutrition that will fill
come and take and take
and take
There's a water that will slake
there's nutrition that will fill
come and take and take
and take

Isa. 55:1-7

But God: Advent Series - Tim Knipp

Sparkles and glitter,
twinkles and evergreen...
only a suspension
of disbelief
(willful blindness,
naivete)
can ignore 
the chasm
between
bright adornments
of the season
and  
the day-by-day
slog 
through the mud
that is reality.

Cancer and 
confinement,
traffic tie-ups,
continual disappointment,
parental migraines - 
the traps and tussles
of everydayness...
it is more, much more
than we can at times
endure.
We can no more control
the incipient onslaught 
than harness  
the hurricane;
but
we can fall flat,
deflated,
defeated,
and yet believe.
We can be devastated,
abandoned,
deceived,
and yet believe.

It will not
necessarily all
work out,
yet to Him I will look.
For all around me
are broken puzzle
pieces whose
design I cannot
fathom.
But God
who can raise the dead,
can cause bare bones
to become enfleshed;
but God
can plant seeds
into infertile wombs
- watch them sprout life;
can expel demented demons,
stroll on the sea,
expire on a cross
and beat death
in hand-to-hand combat.
The unbelievable
follows in His wake
like stardust 
trailing
a meteor -
see it sparkle
like tinsel!

Yes, the world is laced
with sorrow,
but sprinkled 
also with fragrant hope
and golden goodness,
one taste of which
lasts a lifetime.
Yes, we continually
falter and flail,
but God...
but God...
What a Being 
this is!

 2 Cor. 1 & 11

Imagine Serenity: Advent series - Christian Lindbeck

This world will shake you,
split you,
break you.
It will delight you,
and afright you.

Roiling inside us
are currents
and eddies -
emotions that battle
and pummel.
As we approach 
this season
we carry a backpack 
of expectations,
dread and cynicism,
where tiny bubbles of hope
rise delicately to the surface
and pop.

Let us speak peace
as a whisper of hope
and not reprimand.

In the humbug
and pressure,
in the rush and fumble-
let us imagine serenity;
let it enter us as breath
and infuse
us with Truth -
deeper truth, 
truer truth.

This we know.
This we know.

When the whirlpools begin,
back up the view
until the swirling speck
seems inconsequential
in comparison
to the ocean of Truth.
Then dwell awhile.
Enjoy the view.

And as your head lifts,
and your load lightens
just a fraction,
hear the heavenly strains
behind the brassy jingles,
see angels
in disguise
and step forward
into the peace
of His most 
generous
gifts.

Ps. 94:18; Ps. 42:45; Phil. 4:6-7; Ps. 71; Prov. 12:25; 2 Tim. 1:7; Ps. 103

Let us Sing: Advent Series - Tim Knipp

Coldly clinical
and detached
have we become -
shamed of sentiment
and callously claiming
selfishness
as good for survival.

Alleyways whisper,
"this is all there is,"
as trash containers overflow
with forgotten excess
and vermin scuttle
cynically into black holes.

Yet up above the filthy haze
glitter stars
that refuse to diminish
and deep inside
I feel a pull as real
as gravity,
a humming behind
the clanging marketplace -
a hint of the true song.
Listen. Can
you hear it?

Though the story 
has been co-opted,
stylized and marketized,
slicked out to sell;
yet it retains
its germ of Truth.
Look beyond the glitz,
see with the artist's eye,
let it flare out "like
shining from shook foil*"
to declare
His handiwork.

Let the patchwork of mess
and clutter
suggest patterns and 
textures,
delightful in juxtaposition.
Let eyes reflect
His face
as we look, 
and laser-like,
skip past the dinged
exterior to zero in
on light.

Then we will sing -
as we look for His treasures,
liberally sprinkled
so none escapes
His touch.
Every shadow is vibrant
with deep tones
that resonate
inside our aching chests
calling forth
an oceanic cry,
linking us with
the Father who gave
His beloved Son,
who knew separation
and loss 
for us.

And let us sing
in how we frame our worlds;
in how we choose our words.

Let us see divine beauty
in every blade of grass,
in moments caught in passing.
Let us see
and let us sing. 

*Gerald Manley Hopkins, "God's Grandeur"

Col. 1:16-17; Gen. 1:27; Rev. 5:6-13