chaos

“God is our refuge and our strength, an ever-present help in trouble.  Therefore we will not fear though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.” (Psalm 46:1-3)

O Lord, we thank you that the lostness and brokenness of this world is no surprise to you.  Regardless of what is going on around us, or within us, you are with us.  You are our refuge, our strength, our fortress, and our ever-present help.  Have mercy on us!

"The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.” (Psalm 46:7, 11)

timing

eccl. 3:1

they say that

timing is everything

and how right they are

there is indeed

a time for everything

and I season for

every activity

under heaven

but how can we know

what that time is

unless we are told

for our timing is usually

much different from yours

so guide us 

O Lord

into your timing

lest we try to

impose our own

surely

“Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.” (Psalm 23:6, NLT)

You can’t outrun God; he is a relentless pursuer.  Oh sure, you can try, but eventually, no matter how hard you run, he will catch up with you.  It might take pain and suffering, or exhaustion and depletion, or exasperation and frustration, or breakdown and burnout, but eventually his goodness and his unfailing love will overtake you.  The thing that’s so mystifying is why we are so resistant to that in the first place.  Why do we have so much trouble moving from pursuer to pursuee?  Why are we so resistant to a love that cannot be earned, bought, or achieved? 

We can run, but we cannot hide; surely his goodness and his unfailing love will pursue us all of our days.  Which means we can either stop running and do it the easy way or we can keep running and do it the hard way.  The choice is up to us. 

O Lord, forgive us when we start running so hard and fast for you, that we stop running with you.  Thank you that you never stop running after us.  Amen.

lost and found

it is possible

to lose track

of who you are

due to the image

you’re trying to project

after a while

it becomes impossible

to tell one from the other

that’s how we

lose ourselves

in this life

without even

knowing it

the only path

to discovering

your truest self

is the downward one

sit and listen

“She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said.  But Martha was distracted by all of the preparations that had to be made.” (Luke 10:39-40)

Waiting and listening are two of the most important “activities” of spiritual life.  Unfortunately, we are not very good at either.  We are far too easily distracted by all of the preparations that have to be made.  The problem is that unless we sit and wait and listen to Jesus, how will we ever know what it is that he wants us to do?  Are we somehow operating under the illusion that apart from him we have anything of value to give?

kenosis

small

smaller

smallest

low

lower

lowest

less

lesser

least

this

is the

Jesus way

journey to the cross

Ash Wednesday is only a month away.  If you're looking for a good companion for your church/staff/leaders/small group/family/friends to journey together through Lent and Easter, Journey to the Cross is available on Amazon!