Picture This; Isaiah series - Christian Lindbeck (Isa. 65:17-25; Matt. 5:14-16)

See.
Behold,
a spotlight narrows -
follow its beam.
Look what it illumines:
see how the story
moves on,
unscrolling through 
millennia
to reveal
the masterpiece.

Watch my re-
creation unfold,
the universe ignites
and blossoms into new
and glorious forms.
Your delight will 
overshadow and dwarf
your present pain -
it will melt away
like morning mist
evaporating under
a blissful sun.

So look forward
and celebrate the coming
joy now.
You can sing in the surety
of a place of belonging,
of being warm
and well-fed.
No sorrow will touch you
and laughter
will echo,
drowning out the grief
of a child and father
face down in the river.
My dear ones
will know the peace
of welcoming embraces
and purposeful hours;
when they speak
I will listen,
we will all walk together
again in the golden 
garden.

Can you not see it?
Can you taste it?

In the meantime -
this dusty in-between time -
work for and mirror
what will be.
Restoration is possible
in the here and now
and bits of Eden
will light the path
home.
Whet appetites
with your passion
for justice,
your compassion and 
selfless struggle for
the creation
of Shalom
in the now.

Picture it.

Eyes on Me: Isaiah series - Tim Knipp (Isa. 61:1-4; Luke 4:16-21)

Disillusioned.
Mismatched expectations
versus 
reality.
A gray miasma lingers,
infiltrating 
door sills,
obscuring hope.

A light flickers
in Nazareth -
I am here,
he says -
look where 
my coming
was predicted.
Focus your eyes
on me,
see how I sacrifice
my power -
I lay it down
and
die for you.
Watch how I live
to see how I treat
the other,
how I wrestle
the darkness
seeing hope spring
from spark
into flame
as I heal the bruised,
forgive digressions
and bind up
the damaged.
Lift up your eyes;
you too can do this
through me.
I am still active
in the world.
Look at me
and not the gray
miasma.
Look at me.

Don't Miss It: Isaiah series - Christian Lindbeck (Isa. 58)

This is not a business transaction
between you and I.
I will do what I will do
and you will respond;
it should flow from you
like a rising song.
Yet you whine and stamp
your foot
when you've met the bare
minimum requirement -
fasting -
while despising immigrants
and the needy.
You have missed out on my heart
in the interest 
of going through the motions.

What's the point?

Don't come to me
with empty rituals
and petty rules,
measuring out piety
in tenths and not a penny more,
while your heart
remains unchanged.

If you love me,
you will respond
by loving the broken,,
by freeing the prisoners,
by giving your possessions
to those in need.
You will no longer
let ugliness spew forth
from your lips in my name,
judging and sneering
at others whose lifestyles
or skin color
you despise.
You will take action
to stop the degradation of
any of my creations.
You will deny yourself
to give to others,
not to impress me with your
holy dedication.
You will look into the 
runny eyes of the homeless
and destitute,
past their toothless, whiskered
faces and see
souls that I love dearly.

Then, then
will you worship me
in word and in deed
and you will see
the uprising of hope,
the breaking forth of life
and light
to heal and comfort
the lost.
Then will your path 
be clear
and I will walk it 
with you,
and fight for you. 
I will lift you up
and nourish you,
watching you blossom
in a profusion
of lavish colors;
the barren tree 
will again bear fruit
to feed
and restore
the earth.

Compass of Your Heart - Isaiah Light to the Nations Series Tim Knipp Is. 55

Prop up the Arms - To the Ends of the Earth - Weston Stover (Romans 8:18-22)

"The Land of Good People"
squeezed with greed,
buffeted by cyclonic winds
and shaken by political shifts - 
Mozambique.

Lives touched, 
transformed -
bitterness melted away,
brokenness mended,
fractures re-knit
stronger than 
before.

Groaning earth
cries out for
the revelation
of God's children.

In the nowness,
we can reveal the light by
offering a hand,
an ear, a band-aid
or soothing cloth,
encouraging
the weak,
the hurting
and sad. 

Prop up the arms
of those on the battle lines -
cheer them along,
see them run -
see groaning earth
eased.

Hold the Rope - May Missions Month

Poetry response from Jake Nuckolls.

I will go!

I will stay!

We all need both

commit and say

to each other

both are needed

trust that God's 

call is heeded

and that we don't

believe that one

who goes out means

the work is done

the work is there

AND the work is here

prepare the way!

the Kingdom's near!

to you and I

and everyone

support or go 'till

the race is run.

What now? Recap: Isaiah Light to the Nations series - Tim Knipp

Two pictures:
one a lighthouse;
beacon, warning,
example, guide.
the other a mirrored image, 
shrouded in shadow,
exposing false lights
and deeds of oppression
heaped like fermenting laundry
in a windowless room.

Trusting
- the might of armies
and glittering steel,
- the undertow of 
popularity,
- the tangible thrills
and momentary amusements
that distract and 
tantalize -
will leave you bankrupt,
hollow.
But tough love lets you go
after what you hunger for;
you will grasp your heart's desire
and find it sizzles your fingers,
scorching flesh.

When you are ready
to come home,
one will lead you
over earthly miles
and One will
span the impossible divide
between you and the God
you have spurned.

Sing at the goodness
of your Creator
whose servant will suffer
on your behalf.
Sing! Rejoice!
For your offspring
will multiply
and you will be
beautiful
in the Bridegroom's eyes -
look how He adores you
and sing.
Though you bear the scars
and twisted tangle
of errant choices
and though you waver
even now to take 
the extended hand,
just meet His eyes -
see His invitation
and step into 
the dance.