Sunsets

When sorrow's tide ebs o'er the breach
and sun has set beyond your reach
do not follow sister where it goes
where deep seas and dark nights grow
go instead into the east
where intuition points you least
where night is here and dark with doubt
and paths are fraught with fears throughout.

To tread this way you must be brave
and none is promised to pass unscathed
all face weakness, loss, and grief.
Here doubts oft arise about relief
and though right now you have no peace
set your face unto the east.

Follow the stars set up on high
and when dark clouds conceal them from your eye
the One who loves will be your guide.
For He has never left your side.
For when sun set upon his day
and all who loved him went away
He chased no sun, he did not run
Oh Sister, we have such a one
who when the world did love him least
set his face unto the east.

So walk where he has gone before
Let your hope to flee no more
and fear not all that lies in store.
Just as the sun once did descend
night must also come to end.
Press on, dear sister do not now cease
For dawn will break upon the east!

The Cross

I am reminded today of God's faithfulness to provide for all his children. He is serious about providing for all of our needs. Especially for our deepest need, which he provided for in the cross of Jesus Christ. I do not know that I will ever know the depth of my need for the cross, but today I am keenly aware that I do indeed need it take away my guilt and sin. It is a humiliating thing to realize that this is love, not that I ever offered anything to my God, but that he bled, hung on two pieces of wood, and died in the sight of scoffing men whom he created with his thoughts. It is these men for whom he now has loving thoughts towards and, if they will come and humble themselves to accept his death, he will exalt them to be with himself where he is now raised.

"On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross,
The emblem of suffering and shame;
And I love that old cross where the dearest and best
For a world of lost sinners was slain.

O that old rugged cross, so despised by the world,
Has a wondrous attraction for me;
For the dear Lamb of God left His glory above
To bear it to dark Calvary.

Refrain

So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross,
With its light cast upon this dark way
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
As it leads me to glory one day

In that old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine,
A wondrous beauty I see,
For ’twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died,
To pardon and sanctify me.

Refrain

To the old rugged cross I will ever be true;
Its shame and reproach gladly bear;
Then He’ll call me some day to my home far away,
Where His glory forever I’ll share."

When you know not what else to do, then sing...

Who is a God like you?

I am utterly struck by the beauty of the gospel...  It is not a gospel of words, but of actions.  Not a gospel of understanding but one of intense mystery.  It is the gospel of a king and judge who unrelinquishingly shows compassion and favor to those who have never done a good thing.  It is a gospel of passion, of life, and of bloody death.  It is the gospel of how the eternal unchanging binds himself for the sake of love to die the death of the frail for the sake of their treason against himself.  It is totally incomprehensible and senseless and yet majestic, perfect, glorious.  It is precious and scandalous.  It costs us everything and nothing to believe.  We need but come, but we must come. 

"God has consigned all to disobedience that he may mercy on all.  O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!  How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!  For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?  Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?  For from him and through him and to him are all things.  To him be glory forever.  Amen."

I love this...

This is probably the funniest thing I've seen this week.

What I want my life to be about...

Found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvDDc5RB6FQ

Anti-Meridian

Brave Saint Saturn's new album comes out today. Their last one, The Light of Things Hoped For is one of my favorite albums of all time. I really like what I hear of the new album, check it out at bravesaintsaturn.com

Long long way...

It happened slowly
Feet falling hard on the pavement
Eyes reaching into the distance
Towards empty sunsets

-Danny Stephens of Smalltown Poets

Such is the way of things...

Dear Jesus...

To the self proclaimed "Son of God,"

While we really are deeply appreciative of your offer to come and help us, we find that we have other more pressing needs at the moment. We would also like to communicate our deep dissatisfaction in your failure to provide for our needs. Sir, all we ask for is someone who will take care of us. We were mislead when you seemed to be able to feed five thousand of us, that you might be a worthy leader. We have since been convinced that your rule would be, to put it lightly, most offensive to some of our more reasonable sensibilities. We therefore respectfully decline your invitation to follow you. We are open to negotiations however if you would like to continue to discuss the possibility of working with us.

Best wishes,
Will Rearick
on behalf of
The People of the World


Earlier this summer I was reading the Bible in the book of John. I was reading that part where Jesus feeds 5000 people. They were all like trying to track him down and make him king, so he says (knowing it's not his time) that they only like him because he feeds them, but unless they eat his flesh and drink his blood then they can have no fellowship with him. The result? They get pissed off and leave. The lesson I learned is that we as people have a list of things we would like in a king. In ancient Judea being able to feed a lot of people was pretty high on the list. It's not that Jesus doesn't want to feed us. In fact the opposite is true. He desires us to be fed with the things that will satisfy our deepest hungers and thirsts. The question is then will we believe that he knows what those hungers and thirsts are, and that he knows the timeline on which he needs to work in order to meet them. The other day I was talking with God about some of the waiting he's been making me do in life. I still don't understand the reasons his timing cannot match mine in meeting my hungers and thirsts. I was deeply convicted yesterday in church as we sang the hymn "Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus." On the chorus over and over again I couldn't fight back the tears as the congregation sang

Jesus, Jesus how I trust him.
How I've proved him o'er and o'er
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus
O for grace to trust him more.

I realized that time and again, especially most recently, that even the feeblest of my trust has been deeply rewarded, and yet my trust still seems so feeble. I desperately need grace to trust him more.

Trust in essence I suppose is like faith, which always works itself out in obedience. When we obey we move from trusting in our own efforts and reasoning to trusting in the one who's authority we are under. When Jesus invites us into his yoke, he invites us into his work, into obedience. But in the act of yolking ourselves to him, there is a trust that indeed his yolk is easy and the burden is light.

Today I choose to believe. I choose to trust that the yolk is easy and to place myself in a position where I have no choice but to let myself be guided by Christ. I choose to believe that God is the provider and has provided for all my needs in Christ Jesus even though I still feel my need. Today I choose to believe that though my flesh and my heart may fail, God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

"This grace gives me fear, and this grace draws me near
And all that it asks it provides"

Here I am...

I think that there's something wildly appealing about taking my thoughts and throwing them out there into cyberspace and letting them drift about until some hapless reader stumbles upon them then, who knows what happens next...