Blessings are made with blood
And peace is brought by sword
And Lions rip off scaly flesh
To bring us back to life.

Men are made with fire
And chiseled hard with steel
The way to life is dire
And many fall away.

The greatest praise I save for thee-
The one who breaks my bones
The one who brings me to the thick
And drags me through the fight.

So much so soon
And grey is here
And all we hate
We soon hold dear.

I wonder how the day will end
And know I do not have the strength
And so I turn another bend
And look outside to see.

I miss the things that held me most
And hate the missing in my heart
And fear the road that travels strait
And wonder if I'll make it far.

Day by day I take this time
Not too far might I see
Day by day I pray to you
Please, oh please make me be.

Dr. Horrible says:

"Sometimes there is a third even deeper layer that is just like the first..."

Hope

Hope is found in surprising places. We do not often see it coming. It is good to hope. I would like to hope more. Hope is not something you can create. Let us look to the one who can can create it.

Quote of the Week XXXVIII

Thus men, extending their inquiries beyond their capacities, and letting their thoughts wander into those depths where they can find no sure footing, it is no wonder that they raise questions and multiply disputes, which, never coming to any clear resolution, are proper only to continue and increase their doubts, and to confirm them at last in perfect scepticism. (John Locke, An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding)

Theodicy

Voddie Baucham "If God is so powerful and so Good, why do bad things happen?"



He is so right on that I don't even know where to begin.

Trust

I remember a time when I trusted the Lord more than I trusted anyone else. I remember a time when I did not trust Him hardly at all. The thing that gets me, is that He actually goes out of His way (so to speak) to periodically remind me that I can and should trust Him. Clearly He does not owe me any sort of further proof of His trustworthyness. There is no reason for me to doubt Him. Yet His mercy endures. He is patient. He leads me by the hand. He guards and protects me. It is something truly remarkable to trust someone. Let me put my trust where it belongs.

Trial Part III

...

Sometimes I am amazed at the compassion of my Lord. Sometimes there is so much to think about and so little to say...

To My Love V

I am for your liberty
And I desire that you be free
And all the world I wish for you
And pray that all your loves be true.

I imagine you to be
In a place where I can't see
And I wish that I would never do
Terrible hurtful things to you.

I imagine that won't be
Unless you never actually see
Me in all my favourite things
Me at all and what that brings.

But what if it is stuck in you?
That need for me like I need you
And though I seem a helpless case
Still you must needs see my face...

All above I pray for you
And trust that our King will see you through
And though in life we may never meet
Still my heart it skips a beat.

And though the thought that I might see
Makes me feel eternity
Still I wonder at the dream
And wonder at just how it seems.

Be well my love until the end
Be well my love around the bend
And all the parts you cannot see
Trust in Him to be with me.

Pancakes and Coffee

Some mornings, when you really do not know what to do with yourself, an opportunity presents itself (as the common phrase in English goes). Other times you just have pancakes and sip your coffee.

This morning I am sipping my coffee (the pancakes were fine, if you really must know). So I will get ready to go and do... well, I guess I'll go to work and wait, as it were. And in times like this I find that Jesus is what I really want. I wish it did not take times like this to remind me that Jesus is all I really want.

I do not want answers as much as I want Jesus. I do not want a way out- I want a way in. I do not want the pain to stop- I want to feel the presence of God. When times are desperate I do not want my life to go on- I want my spirit to be at peace with Jesus. There is only this King Jesus and He has made the world and He will cover it with fire. He has come as a man to die and He will return with a Sword in His mouth to Judge as God.

Sometimes things present themselves. Other times we have pancakes and coffee. At all times Jesus is Lord.

Quote of the Week XXXVII

I am a ghost... I entered the eighteenth circle of hell a long time ago. ("Number Four" from the film Broken Trail, after she was raped the first time in the film)

Begging your pardon...

My apologies for the long unexplained absence. I have been elsewhere than norm and have had a somewhat finicky internet connection. I hope to resume by early next week- if not sooner.

Quote of the Week XXXVI

"Love isn't brains, children, it's blood -- blood screaming inside you to work its will... (Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer "Lover's Walk" Season 3)

Trial 2

We Are Not What We Will Be (to the Christian)

We know that we are not what we will be, but that God is purifying a Bride for Christ- - right this minute, in each of you—in order to perfect us on that Great and Glorious Day when Jesus shall return for his people (Eph. 5:25ff; cf. Phil. 3:12-21). (The Wrath of God: An Encouragement for His People and A Warning to His Enemies Charles R. Biggs)

I look forward to transformation even though I know that it is often a painful process. I take great comfort in the thought that I am not what I will be. We all want to change something about ourselves. We have all tried to change something and failed. The hope I have for change is not in presidents or rifles... it is in Jesus.

No one is like Him; yet we are made like Him. No one can see Him; yet our eyes are opened to see Him. Everyone is deaf; yet our ears are opened to hear the sound of His voice. We are His sheep. The church is His bride. We have been brought into the Church (if indeed we are in Him). We are His people.

Praise God for what He is doing in us. We are not what we will be.

Quote of the Week XXXV

I must not fear; fear is the mind-killer... (Frank Herbert, from Dune

"Christmas Eve" ... a Silent Night

I began the delayed Christmas celebration this evening. It is amazing the effect that being surrounded by people you love and who love you has on you. I feel like I should say something... but for once, my heart is still.

Quote of the Week XXXIV

“Since our hearts cannot, in God’s mercy, either seize upon life ardently enough or accept it with the gratefulness we owe, unless our minds are first struck and overwhelmed by fear of God’s wrath and by dread of eternal death, we are taught by Scripture to perceive apart from Christ, God is, so to speak, hostile to us, and his hand is armed for destruction; to embrace his benevolence and fatherly love in Christ alone” ("Institutes of the Christian Religion II.XVI.ii)

Christmas

I wish you all a merry Christmas. Cheers.