If I Go: Every Tribe/Every Nation series - Christian Lindbeck (Acts 1:8; Matt. 28:18-20)

Christmas
is the Father's work,
Easter
is what Jesus ensured,
Pentecost
is the Spirit's fuel.

A teeming throng,
sweaty and sardined,
waited...

Then a wind wafted 
through,filling
and fueling
each separate,
sentient soul.

This is the promised power,
the impetus
to go,
step outside 
comfortable borders
and participate
in the great
reaping,
from first fruits
to last .

All nations are welcome -
no culture,
no matter how alien,
is excluded
from God's 
harvest plan.

"It is better
if I go,"
Jesus said and
indeed, His ascension
ignited
an explosive birth:
the church
of Christ,
born in fire.

The Fractured World: Creed series - Christian Lindbeck (Gen. 3; Acts 1-2; Rev. 19:22)

"He ascended into heaven, and he is seated..."

More than a flight pattern,
ascension
describes the taking of a crown
and throne.
Ascended - past tense,
done at a point 
in time before now.

He currently sits -
present tense.

Then why this fractured world
where innocents can
be gassed by 
their own ruler
and humans are considered
disposable commodities
to insatiable lusts
and blood
drips through
the cracks?

Believers - flawed but faithful -
have run neck and neck through history
with rebellious rioters -
broken also but unrepentant.
Christ's invasion into enemy 
territory was Act I
in the Great War of
redemption.
We find ourselves
at war still (Act II),
knowing the end is now
assured,
though we wrestle
with monsters
infuriated and frenzied,
laying waste 
while they can.

"And He will come to judge..."

When the King rises
from His throne (future tense),
His shadow 
will fall like lead on us all
as he swings the sword
of justice
beheading evil and
treading on the Serpent's head.
He will swing wide
the gates of Eden -
the rusty hinges
will shriek with joy.

Between now and then
we are to continue 
the battle as we
champion redemption by 
harassing the enemy,
construct the Kingdom by 
dynamiting dungeons
and create justice by 
dismantling systems 
of oppression.

Heralds tell,
ambassadors show,
and agents act
to bring about change.
Yet we are just 
blowing in the face 
of the wind
without the empowerment
and direction
of God's Spirit.
Buildings,
institutions
and programs
will not suffice
to bring real hope
to a fractured
world.
Help us -
heralds, ambassadors
and agents all -
to kneel daily
before the throne;
give us ears
to hear,
hearts to care,
eyes to see
and courage
to act
in the King's 
most holy name
and for His cause.
         Amen.

Everything Changes: Creed Series - Tim Knipp (1 Cor. 15:1-3)

Pontius Pilate:
infamous judge,
frozen in time,
known only and
always
for the worst
he's ever done.
Provable fact:
crucifixion - death -
resurrection.

Political ground-breaking
and celebratory news
is transacted
from one
to many.
Christ's death and resurrection
(eye witnessed
and verifiable) 
is not about me,
contrary to 
Gospel Tracts, Inc.

Father-warrior God
has retaken territory
previously ceded to Satan
through sending
His messiah-king
to defeat death
once and for all.
Long-awaited,
this promised King
ticked off all the boxes
on the list of 
requirements,
including and especially
surrendering 
His life. 

As Conquering Hero,
He invites us to join
the winning side,
become a Kingdom citizen,
and live 
as such.

Everything 
changes.

As Christ was a factual
entity on earth,
so we live out 
His mission here
in tangible ways.
Each word,
each action or 
non-action
echoes 
who we follow.

Researched, 
cited sources and all,
this historical event,
this Fact,
changes
everything.

Paradox: Creed Series - Christian Lindbeck (John 1:14; Rom. 8:29; Heb. 4:14)

"I believe in Jesus Christ"
takes center stage - 
disrupting history,
dividing time into 
before and after.
John places Christ
at the beginning, before Time -
with God and yet God
but not God the Father;
divine,
outside of Time,
omniscient -
who stepped willingly
into Time,
dressed in mortal flesh
and all that implies -
yet exists for all Time.
"The only Son of God, 
the Father."

"Conceived by the Holy Spirit"
God's breath
invaded a virgin's womb,
permeating all barriers,
to ignite 
and impregnate -
the divine mingled
with the earthly,
danced a round or two
and Life began.

"...born of the virgin Mary"
Gripped in the vise
of birth pains,
his child's skull,
a battering ram from within,
our High Priest
was born in blood
and water
as we are;
yet perfect as we
are not.

Descended from Mary,
whose ancestor, David
received the promise 
awaited 
for generations;
Even Joseph
can trace lines that
echo prophet's words
and wander back
to Eve herself;
the Promised Hero
waited since banishment
from the garden,
yet untainted with
Adam's sin.

"I believe in Jesus Christ,
the only son of God,
conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the virgin, Mary." 

Firstborn of a new creation.

I Believe; Creed Series - Tim Knipp (Rom. 10:9-10; Ps. 88; Matt. 28:9)

Fragments chipped away,
reshaped,
distorted -
threatening collapse.
A core was essential -
a solid isle on which to stand,
substantial,
clearly outlined,
entrenched in time.

More than rationality,
belief is choice and emotion
linked to thought and action:
grasping raspy rope
and rappelling down
the mountainside.
Just thinking it is so
will not do
when questions come
(as come they must),
when the earth quakes
and trembles.
Belief is more than 
intellectual certainty.
A scientific treatise
on the trustworthy fibers
joined together to
create the rope
is helpful but
 
faith requires a leap.

Sometimes
"darkness is my
closest friend"
for then
I must trust what
I cannot see
and cling ferociously.

Day-by-day faith
requires choice
walking hand-in-hand
with reason, doubt
and trust in the Person
of my God:
fathersonspirit.

The Creed is a portrait
of this Person,
painted in broad
and minute strokes;
delineated,
examined,
cradled in crimson
and verdant green.

This I believe.

I Want to See: Stronger series - Tim Knipp (Mark 10:46)

On the way to death's doorway,
He carried His cross.
Long before the tree 
became lumber,
He hoisted it onto His
muscled shoulders,
foretelling
in deed and word
what would be
the way.

Peter named Him "Messiah"
but denied the cross hairs
of crucifixion,
as did those begging favors
in the Kingdom.
And we ignore the sacrifice
demanded by
Christ's way:
ignoring sexual indiscretions,
claiming racial wholeness
in the face of blatant bias
and choosing power
over submission.

Blind Bartamaeus sat
off to the side
as the tide of humans
seethed past.
His shouts rose above the 
cacophony:
"Mercy! Lord, have mercy!"
while the tide murmured, "Quiet, man!"
"Jesus - look upon me! Mercy!

When called to the Master's side,
Bartamaeus threw aside
his threadbare but precious cloak
and groped his way forward,
fingers poking sweaty noses
and oily hair en route.

"What do you want me to do for you?"
- an earthshaking question 
if ever there was one.
Do I really want to leap headfirst
into the river of change,
leaving behind all that I have
ever known?

"Master, I want to see."

And so he received:
in the next blink
He saw Jesus framed
in golden Jericho dust
and followed Him
along the way
to the cross.

What do I want Him to do for me?

Mercy, Lord.
Forgive my blindness -
that self-focused entitlement
that shuns vulnerability
and embraces others
only with armor firmly 
in place.
Have mercy on my denial -
my refusal 
to walk in your way
and yet proudly bear
your label
though I tarnish it
daily.
Have mercy, Lord.

I want to see.

Stronger series - Wealth or whatever we depend on - Christian Lindbeck (Mark 10:17-22)