Confidence

John's first letter says, "And now, little children, abide in him so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming."

I have a dog named CC (for Cookies and Cream). She is a true scavenger and has a bad habit of getting into the trash or nabbing food left on the counter. Whenever she does this and I come from the other part of the house, or come in the house after being gone, she lowers her head and won't make eye contact. She slinks around me and tries to hide somewhere...even before I know she's done anything.

However, when I enter the room or come home and no such food thievery has occured, she runs to me with her tail wagging and wants to me to talk to her and pet her. I thought of this as I read the passage above. There is joy in being able to run up to Jesus, anxious for his voice and love; confidently approaching him when he comes.

I suppose the writer is talking about Christ's return, but I think it applies to each time Jesus "shows up." That could be prayer, worship, whenever. Will these be times where I confidently interact with him, or will I slink away?

Light in the Darkness

Your light awakens me.
Illuminescent fingers
caress the walls
and greet my eyes
which blink "hello" in return.

Looking becomes seeing
within life's room.
Shadows recede,
corners lean,
the ceiling kneels and the floor sits up.

Empty and cluttered
all at once;
vast inventory
of value-less vagueries
litter the floor - shards of broken dreams.

My eyes now see
beyond the window;
a world awash
in color and warmth.
You are the Light overcoming my Darkness.

Daughter

last her weary eyes behold
first as sleep's deep fog recedes
shoulder pillow, arms enfold
voice cheers outward, upward pleads

treasure valued more than gold
cherished though not wholly mine
shared with "husband" when I'm old
this day rendered to "divine"

Change

Once was.
Now is.
Then awaits.

Once couldn’t.
Now can.
Then will.

Once trapped.
Now loose.
Then free.

The Mary's

Below is a poem about trusting God with all we have. I realize I've conflated several Mary characters, but this is something of a collective thought.


I give you everything
the world counts as value
the essence of all I have
the perfume of my identity

the fragrance of fantasy
in the minds of mounting men
the odor of my defense
against sweat-soaked invaders

my all flows freely
not a drop do I withhold
of this aromatic profit
and the body sold to gain it

what was preparation to you
was finality to me
today I die in you
Jesus, live in me

Pangs

I Timothy 6, in the context of concern for those who are rich, Paul says, "It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.

I'm quite sure it's not just the rich who can do this, nor is it just pangs related to money. So, today, I'm going to be alert to the pangs in my life that may be piercing me in ways that lead me away from Jesus and my faith in him.

Can You Hear Me Now?

I've been dwelling in John 10 lately and realizing how true it is that there are different voices talking to me all the time. I'm also realizing how often I listen to the wrong ones.

In this passage Jesus explains, twice, that there are things that can get to us. Some of those things have no claim on us; but, like a thief, they hop the fence in hopes of nabbing a few sheep. There is also a shepherd who does have a claim on us and who desires to feed us and keep us safe.

Within the passage, Jesus says that the sheep know the shepherd's voice and will follow only him, and not any of the others who have come to steal and destroy. But my opinion...my experience is that this is a best case scenario; the way things ought to be.

Those times in my life when I feel that my peace and joy and rest and patience and goodness and self-control have been stolen, it is because I have followed the words of a thief and destroyer; not my shepherd's. "You need more, you need better, he's holding out on you, it's not that big of a deal." These are the words of one who is not my shepherd.

Conversely, those times in life when I'm living abundantly, which interestingly enough seems to be the most simply, it's when I've been heeding the voice of my shepherd. He says things like, "you are my beloved, my child whom I died for because of my love for you."

Whose voice has been loudest in your life lately?

Socks

I never smell socks,
except the ones
I find on the living room floor.
Are they clean or dirty?
There’s really only one way to tell –
smell.

My Love

Across the room
beauty moves;
slowly, familiarly,
yet always anew.
Warmly gazing
green-blue eyes
search deep into my heart
to find only their reflection.
Now, my love,
rush into open arms
stretched wide for you;
unconditional
love
embrace.

Hope (Belief), Faith and Love

I'm reading through Mark. Chapter 11 today led to the following, almost mathematical, progression.

Mark 11 says "Have faith in God." Hebrews 11 tells us:
FAITH = the assurance of things hoped for
and
FAITH = the conviction of things not seen.

This is interesting to me. What is belief? How is belief different than faith? It seems to me that the following is pretty accurate, though I find no Hebrews 11 equivalent for belief

BELIEF = professed acceptance of a truth claim (or set of truth claims)

So, if I believe in God, I accept that God IS. If I believe in the God of the Bible, I accept as true that God IS, and God is as he is presented in Scripture. If I believe in Jesus, I accept the claims about him. If I believe Jesus (not "in"), I accept what he has said as true.

Faith seems to add two dimensions (at least) to belief. First is a forward element; "things hoped for." "Whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it." This is an equivalent statement to "assurance of things hoped for." The second component is trust - a movement from head to heart; conviction. Belief becomes conviction and the result is not just a verbal expression or mental acceptance of a truth proposition, but behaving naturally as if it is true and will continue to be true.

So the following could be constructed at the risk of over simplification.
HOPE (belief) - begets - FAITH (assurance, conviction)
FAITH - begets – LOVE

Or as Henry Blackaby says, we see God at work and accredit it to God, so we join him in his work (follow his commands and direction) because we trust in his faithfulness, and when we again see that faithfulness and goodness, our relationship deepens with Him...we fall ever more in love with God.