The Primal Christmas Tree

30 Nov 2013 2 Comments

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

(One Star and five prime numbers . . . a tree of perfection!)


*
**
***
*****
*******
***********
!


The

Star is

on top, sovereign

in His supreme place.

His light illuminates all life

below.  All below Him, made in perfection.

Gathered, enfolded, protected – like a mother hen does – under His wings.


!
***********
*******
*****
***
**
*


Is this tree upside-down? Wrong? Distressing? Let it not be so!  It

is made in perfection, for He is still supreme and sovereign.

All lives supported upon His shoulders. Kept

by His strength. Maintained by

His goodness.  Lit

by His

Love.

Image by Gloryteller

Thank You, My GREATEST Audience

30 Nov 2013 5 Comments

* * * * * * *
* * * * *
* * *
* *
*

As a writer, it is of extreme importance that I have an audience.
A readership.
My Highest Lord and Editor has graciously given me that.
I thank Him for you, my reader.
Most of all, I’m extremely thankful for His own attentiveness to my words.
He attends to my words, here, and in prayer, personally.
He listens, He hears, He reads me,
and, best of all, He responds!
So . . .

I thank you, Oh Highest Lord,
For seeing the words from my hands,
For hearing the audible words my mouth has spoken,
For hearing the silent words my mind has formed,
For attending to the words from my pen,
For reading the language of my body,
For embracing the singular manuscript of my soul,
And, most of all, for hearing the words
constantly uttered by my remade, worshipful heart.
I thank You, Lord, for hearing me,
Understanding my prayer,
Attending to the many parts, and forms, and sounds of my voice;
 And responding,
In Your own time,
In your own way,
For my good,
In this holy, ongoing, conversation we have, Lord.
I thank You.

Image by Gloryteller

Thankful for a Grateful Heart

28 Nov 2013 4 Comments

by Gloryteller in Christian Poetry, Christian Writing, Evangelism, Faith, Gifts of the Holy Spirit, God's Bounty, God's Gifts, God's Grace, God's Love, God's Provision, Good News, Inspiration, Jesus Christ, Life, Personal Testimony, Prayer, Redemption, Thankfulness and Gratitude, Worship Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

* ^*^ *


Ten thousand million billion moments
With which my life is filled.
Each one shorter than a second,
Less; even shorter still.
Each one begins, and each one ends,
But is not taken away.
And each one has no meaning, then,
At the end of the average day.
Meaningless moments, but for Christ,
Who redeemed them all for me,
Tied them all together,
Made them all to be.
A whole life – a life that begins and ends,
But is not taken away.
As if that were not enough,
He also gave me words to say
A prayer of thanks for a grateful heart,
The gift of which is precious.
A heart to embrace the building joy
Of gratitude for Him, so gracious.
So, I give heartfelt thanks
For the moments,
For the life,
For redemption,
For Christ,
For the gift of a grateful heart,
And for more,
Much more,
I thank You;
Thank You, Lord!


Happy Giving of the Thanks today!

Thank You for Your Friendship!

14 Nov 2013 5 Comments

*
^^

A pair of friends alternately watch one another
across the room,
through the clear eyes of mutual love,
with a spirit of respect,
and warm esteem,
and each one thinks:
“I am the more fortunate here.”
And so it should be between friends.
And so it is, between Jesus
and each of His believers.
So it is, I believe.
But that kind of friendship is, at the same time,
 far, far more;
more than these limited phrases
can describe.
That is a relationship reaching into forever.

*
^^

post #150

Image by Gloryteller

Remember, Trust, and Fear Not

13 Nov 2013 5 Comments

* * *
^                ^

I’m like Israel.
I’m always in some stage of forgetting.
Forgetting what God has done for me.
Always in some season of fluctuating lack, or abundance, of trust.
Lacking trust in Him.
Always wandering back and forth in the space between complete remembrance
and idolatry.
Between desperate, abiding trust,
and going aside to find my own way.
Gaining freedom.
Careless with freedom.
Freedom tipping dangerously
back and forth at the edge of destruction.
And so it is with my country.

It is said that great civilizations can’t be destroyed from without,
but easily from within.
I try to fight The Worm inside;
the one who hides its presence.
Insidious.
Parasitic.
Spanning the length of my inner workings.
Feeding, wiggling, waiting.
Trying to poison me gradually,
without my noticing.
But I notice.
I know it’s there
trying to kill the very one who feeds it.
And I try to poison it back.
In anger.
In revenge.
I take poisons to kill it,
or, at least, to drive it out.
But it won’t go,
And that’s killing me . . .

Alas! I have forgotten, once more,
that I can’t, and never could, by myself.
That there is The Saving Promise,
and The Trust in its Maker
that I let fade to my own harm.
I’ve only to remember that He has defeated that Worm.
Has His foot on its neck.
It knows it’s finished, yet
it writhes and thrashes,
and spews its poison,
Attempting to inflict yet one more wound inside.
But it is harmless as long as I remember to trust Him;
to keep Him precisely between myself and that monster.
Remember and trust.
Oh, Israel!
I can’t, even for one moment, forget,
Nor let trust fail.
Nor neglect thanking Him for what He has done, is doing, and will do.
To keep me safe.
And to keep me free.

~So it is with me.~
~And so it is with my country.~

Image by Gloryteller

That “Thin Place”

30 Oct 2013 2 Comments

~~~~~~~~~

Sometimes,
Writing a message from My Light,
Or reading one,
Hearing His music,
Kneeling in His worship,
Sitting at His feet,
Or under His cross,
Or walking with Him in this thick here-and-now,
In wonder,
In humility,
Gratefully,
I approach that thin place.
Gracefully,
He allows me to perceive it,
To touch its elusive, wispy certainty,
Delicate, like a hint of misty fragrance,
Even to weave my fingers through it
To sense where The Father is.~
~That holy thin place which, so lightly,
So fleetingly, separates;
So gently lies between
This weighty place,
Where I am,
And eternity.
~ ~ ~

Image by Gloryteller

Friendship Matters

28 Oct 2013 3 Comments

^ ~ ~ ~ ^

^ ~ ^

~ ^ ^ ~

(I like a title that can be read two ways.)
(I like how, together, words can play.)

^ ^

A week ago, it came “to light” that:
“Our friendship has made a difference.”
That difference, not just to us (and for us),
although that is very significant to me,
but to the various communities to which we belong.
And not only because we completed a worthwhile project together,
but in the larger sense, in which a 1+1 relationship, when blessed, can equal “3”.
In the matter of friendship, “blessed” is the key word,
for I had been relatively alone, friend-wise,
for many years, in this city,
before He saved and transformed me,
and blessed me in many ways.
Now I have many meaningful Christian friendships.
I understand something of Christian love,
and the love of Father God which surpasses full understanding.
I hadn’t known what I had been missing!



~A treasure greatly precious, and rare,
is the time spent with a close friend.
Life spins and circles smoothly there,
Where, on a bond, one can depend.~

I’m reminded of how Jesus called the unworthy disciples
His friends,
and of how he calls us unworthy believers
His friends.
(We are unworthy by ourselves, but with Him,
our friend IN us,
we are made worthy.)
He taught His friends.
He showed them the Way, the Truth, and the Life,
through His companionship,
through showing them Himself –
His true Self.

He knew this verse:
Proverbs 27:17    “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.”

~As crystal dust polishes crystal,
so one believer polishes another.~

His brother knew something astute about errant friendship:

James 4:4   “. . . don’t you know that friendship with the world
is hatred toward God?
Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world
becomes an enemy of God.”

Undoubtedly, Jesus is THE best friend that any and every person could have.
(What A Friend  We Have In Jesus)
All that He hears from the Father, He shares with us.
I am His personal friend, and He is mine!
That friendship made, makes, and will make,
the greatest difference in the whole world,
of all time,
for everyone,
forever.

Remember that a friend is more than the condition of having access to someone’s social media page.
It takes more than accepting a digital request to be a real friend.
It takes precious time to be a companion,
~and companionship is the jelly on the bread of friendship.~
To anyone who is “a friend of the world”,
and not a friend of Jesus, you are like I was –
you don’t know what you are missing,
and I say that in the kindest, most compassionate way possible.

The best friendships are based on a mutual relationship with God.
David and Jonathan come to mind as Biblical best friends.
“Let God be between us,” said Jonathan, who had everything to lose,
yet, because of his love,
was loyal in saving brother-in-law, and close friend, David.

Friendship makes a difference! 
And not only to the friends involved,
but in an expanding sphere
which engulfs all creation.

Let God’s blessing be between us, as well,
as it has been,
as He has seen to it that friendship
has indeed inspired this message,
and it matters.

Yes, our friendship has made a difference,
is making a difference,
and will make a positive difference,
just as Jesus’ holy friendships
Have always,
are now,
and always will
make THE BIG difference.
All the difference in the world.
All the difference in His everlasting Kingdom.

Image by Gloryteller

Reviewing My Past As I Look Forward To Leaving Time Behind

13 Oct 2013 4 Comments

~ ~ ~ ~
^ ^ ^ ^ ^

My life is being read back to me
by a speed-reader becoming more adept
with practice; soon a master,
fading lines racing,
the pages turning faster,
the rate of turning accelerating,
quickly, inexorably revealing my story, 
which, hopefully, was, and is,
And will be, all to Jesus’ glory.

* * * *
^ ^ ^ ^ ^

You’re right, those of you who say I spend a lot of time reliving my past,
reminiscing in nostalgic reflection,
Recalling recollected memories.
That’s not such a bad thing is it,
considering there is much more of my past behind me
than there is of my future ahead of me?
(Of course I’m speaking Earthily and physically, not spiritually.)

Jesus, my saviour, knew that feeling, I think.
In His early thirties.
Lines racing.
During His ministry.
Pages turning inexorably.
A man (Man) of time – living in time.
A fellow victim of time?
A fellow captive?
A servant of time?
(If a victim, a captive, or servant, He was a perfect one)
At least, a subject of time, bound by its rules.
Hardly as old as I am.
Half my age, His time was running out.
Time leaks away, as lifeblood from a relentlessly-dripping wound.
Yet He knew He was going to live “forever”
(was there a moment of horror when He thought He wouldn’t?)
in a place where the words “past”, and “future”,
and “before”, and “after”, and “forever”
have no meaning except in the context of life in the world
– the physical, materially-created universe.
In Heaven, there is only “now”, I reason.
(Even then, a special and unique kind of now.)
(Some say, even here, that “now” is all that exists)
But time is only for The World, even though
God is able, I think, to move in and out of this time-ridden world at will.

Things have happened.
Other things will possibly happen . . .
Yes!  This next line happened!
Sequence!
Time has kept all my lines from happening at once!

As I draw closer to my last line here, literally, in this post, and here, figuratively, on Earth,
I reflect upon the time of my birth,
childhood,
teen-hood,
adulthood,
the time of my re-birth,
a new, different, more real childhood,
and all the times between all the “hoods”.
Then the time after.
In comparison, the time I’ve been blessed with after having been born-again
is like living with one foot – like the frozen, anticipated, next step – in the joy of the timeless place
with Jesus and Father God.

A part of me has become rather fond of time, though it is a capricious master.
Reliable and steady, yet inexorable, unrelenting, and unforgiving.
It flies.
It waits for no-one.
It certainly is not waiting for me.
But God is. 
Patiently, forgivingly,  (which are, indeed, “time words”),
and lovingly (which is a timely, and an eternal word.)

“Reliving”, or thinking about the past is interesting and useful.
Living “in the now” is also important,
but to live in the “eternal now”,
to live with the Highest Lord, is what I really want.

Image by Gloryteller

Beauty Never Gets Old

09 Aug 2013 8 Comments

by Gloryteller in Belief in God, Bible, Christ, Christian Poetry, Christian Writing, Creation, Evangelism, God, God's Bounty, God's Gifts, God's Glory, Hope, Inspiration, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Life, Worship Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^

Beauty never gets old
In the eye of its beholder.

~ ~

For it is already old,
And the beholder’s eye sees more
Than it ever expected to allow inside:
The Light of The Eons.

~ ~ ~

__________

A mere wondrous thought of the Ancient of Days.
An idea from His creative mind.
An image of His character.

~ ~ ~ ~

Beauty — an attribute of His Word and Son.
At once ancient, timeless, and present.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

At once, fresh, and young, and new, and most pleasing.
A joy to behold,
Beauty never gets old.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Hold it!
Embrace it!
Behold . . . Him!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^

Beauty never gets old
In the eye of its beholder.
For it is already old,
And the beholder’s eye sees more
Than it ever expected to allow inside:
The Light of The Eons.
A mere wondrous thought of the Ancient of Days.
An idea from His creative mind.
An image of His character.
Beauty — an attribute of His Word and Son.
At once ancient, timeless, and present.
At once, fresh, and young, and new, and most pleasing.
A joy to behold,
Beauty never gets old.
Hold it!
Embrace it!
Behold . . . Him!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The images above hardly begin to portray, nor depict, the beauty of His created works.
Hardly an iota.
Certainly not alpha to omega.
Because:

It is said that Lord Jesus, The Son of God,
The Word Who Is God and was God,
And was with God, at and before The Creation,
Made everything from nothing.
I propose that He made everything, not from nothing,
But from Himself,
Who is Everything at once!
That is why we have beauty.
It is part of His image,
His attributes,
His wonderfulness.
For He IS Beauty.
Lord Jesus is the one, , , true, , ,
Beautiful One!

Gloryteller
8-9-13

 

 

Momentously Graced

28 Jul 2013 1 Comment

by Gloryteller in Apologetics, Christian Poetry, Christian Writing, Evangelism, Gifts of the Holy Spirit, God's Bounty, God's Gifts, God's Grace, God's Provision, Inspiration, Life, Metaphor Tags: , , , , , ,

~ ~~ ~
^ ^ ^^ ^ ^

Grace comes moment by moment,
Abiding until the next.
Life, a momentary comment,
By grace is momentously blessed.

L< Gloryteller
7-28-13

Therefore, I Must Write

17 Jul 2013 2 Comments

~ ~ ~
^^^^^

Write, write, write!
Must write, must write. 
Must write uniquely,
as uniquely commissioned,
or die an invisibly unique
and uniquely individual,
empty. . . living. . .  death.

I write, therefore, I yam.

I write, therefore, I yam, therefore, I . . .

 

Image by Gloryteller

Seeing A Scene Between The Lines — Another God Nod !

10 Jul 2013 5 Comments

by Gloryteller in Bible, Christian Humor, Christian Writing, Evangelism, Faith, God's Gifts, God's Grace, God's Provision, Inspiration, Metaphor Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

~ ~ ~

^^^^^

It happened completely unexpectedly on my birthday,  while reading a major novel.
I have never experienced this particular peculiar “special effect” while reading,
so I’ve been trying to assemble the right descriptive words with which to relate it:

I was reading, and I’m still reading, a “real”, hardcover, paper-and-ink version of the classic “Atlas Shrugged”.
As I was reading along, eyes moving along at a fast clip, my attention was drawn to the space above the line which I was reading.
I noticed something materializing there.
Without slowing down or stopping, I noticed a three-dimensional scene beginning to appear above the line.
It was as though I was driving at highway speed, watching the scenic countryside “moving past” as I watched out of my side window.
It was only a second before I reached the end of the line and thought, “What in the world was that?  What’s going on now?”
(It seems I hardly ever have to wait long for
something anomalous
something amazing
something astounding
something bizarre
something “coincidental”
something “crazy”
something epiphanic
something exceptional
something extraordinary
something mysterious
something remarkable
something super-natural
something surprising
something  unconventional
something unique
something unusual
and/or
something whimsical
to occur).

So, I immediately returned to the beginning of the line and read it again, scientifically, looking for a cause for this effect, a connection, or an explanation.
There was nothing special about that particular line nor the sentence which it was a part of.
The “effect” was still there, fence posts in the foreground zipping by, green hills farther out “moving” more slowly, and the mountains and clouds on the horizon not appearing to move at all.  As I kept reading, the background scene expanded to fill all the spaces between several lines as though I were actually there at that particular time and place.  Then the scene began to fade quickly and was gone in a few short, but pregnant, seconds.
I thought:
“What a thrilling thing!”
I wondered:
“What are You trying to tell me?”

“He’s gone hallucinatory”,  you’re thinking.
Over the edge,
Delusional,
Imagining things,
Lost his mar……
You get the picture — I know what you’re thinking.
Yes you are!  I know it!
Well, maybe you have a point, but I don’t think so, and even if you do, God can still work with it.

You see,
It’s another instance of grace —  a most-undeserved nod from God timed perfectly,
tailored uniquely for me, a personal revelation prepared for my use in my personal testimony and my personal ministry.
It’s typical that I should get a God Nod — my term for a message from God —  while reading a book authored by a pro-abortion atheist (Ayn Rand, a very, very talented, enjoyable, and skillful writer/novelist), but what do I do with this?  How  can I use it?  What do I write?
Reveal yourself, John Galt!
Hmmm, The John Galt Line…..
It came to me…
The scenery between the lines reminds me of pieces I have written about reading the Bible as a living text.  It’s about what’s in the lines, and what’s between the lines, but it’s more than that.  It has a depth of scenery that appears to be whizzing past the moving reader, yet it is still and stationary.  The trick is, I gather, to stop, turn ninety degrees, and look past the lines, deeper into the page.  I did, and as I did, the faraway, unmoving Mountain began to draw toward me (and also get larger)  as I approached It, just as it would happen if a driver turned directly toward his/her desired objective.

“Line upon line, precept upon precept” is, to my mind, a good thing — a good way to build.  The lines are stacked in two dimensions, the precepts in three, or more!  The Word of God has layers and unfathomable depths to be explored.
Turn into it when it seems everything is whizzing past.
When you seek to move closer to Him, He will move closer to you, dear reader.
My trust in our Lord has led me into the most amazing life I could have imagined.
I wish you even more than you can imagine, and pray that you, too, will get unexpected Nods from God
as you read, write, and travel through the scenery of your life.
Bless you!
L<  Gloryteller
P.S. – I would be very interested to hear of your God Nods!
Has anything remotely similar ever happened to you?
Join the discussion, or start one.  You are appreciated!

Of Absolutes and of Truth

01 Jul 2013 2 Comments

~ ~ ~

^^^^^

He told my heart that someone is having trouble with absolutes, that someone needs to hear this.
I dedicate this exclusively to you, dear reader.

~~~

Please pardon my use of absolutes,
But the world will always abuse
Its own.
And God won’t ever fail to soothe
His own.
He makes all things work together
For our good.
Everything good comes from Him Alone!

~~~

This is the only context where absolutes are valid,
For everything is beneath His feet.
The Highest Lord is the one Trust,
The one Truth,
The absolute I AM,
And He is all yours if you only ask to be all His.

Image by Gloryteller

Previews, Glimpses, Sips, And Samples

29 Jun 2013 2 Comments

~ ~ ~

^^^^^

At a food show, the chef fed us morsels from each course of his famous ten course gourmet dining experience.

The wine steward poured us sample sips of his oldest vintage.
But the actual meals and drinks were beyond our means,
Our ability to fully appreciate,
Beyond our wherewithal…

We were left with our dreams and ‘air-filled’ beans,
Not that beans aren’t good, mind you…

At the homemade ice cream store, the clerk gave us delicious samples of exotic frozen wonders, but there were too many and we had to decide upon one or two…

We watched the trailer – actually a teaser – of the new blockbuster movie.  We could have watched it right then, but it was a month from release in theaters…

We looked at paint swatches, but they were too small to get the full visual picture of how the whole room would look with those colors…

We saw photographs of architectures and landscape designs for our new home, but each was more beautiful than the last and we couldn’t wrap our head around them, couldn’t decide…

We saw photographs of paintings, which, of course, couldn’t do justice to the real works of art…

We heard samples of music which we knew were not a fair representation of the complete recorded songs, which, themselves, failed to convey the complete experience of watching and hearing the artists play and sing the music before us “live”…

Perfume samples faded too soon…

The smell of lilacs.
We just want them to keep blooming all year
So that we can have the real thing
And not just a pleasant memory…

We saw the digital computerized results of the collisions of subatomic particles moving at nearly the speed of  light.  The pictures are digital because the particles are traveling so fast, their trails are very short, and their “lives” are less than flashes.  The researchers are reasonably certain that they have found the elusive Higgs Boson — the “God particle” — that confers mass upon all matter.  Those particles border upon the unreal in our local timespace, but their effects and their existence is, in a sense, eternal…

So it is to live here in the world of the created universe.
We see but a glimpse of the immense and the miniscule.
Of the quick and even the slow.
Of the true hues and created colors.
But we’re glad to have eyes.

We hear but a whisper of the eternal symphony.
But we’re glad to have ears.

We get only a momentary, fleeting taste of a magnificent feast.
But we’re glad to have the sense of taste.

We are thankful to have senses, but
We’re left with a longing for more,
No, not just more, but a longing for The Real Thing.
The big, full, complete, Real Thing.
All of it!

The thing is:  that God gives us the capacity to experience Him through His created works surrounding us here in our temporary home, the incompletely restored universe.  We have sensory organs, limited as they are, and we have minds which seek to understand, all the while knowing that the completed “big picture” will not be ours.  The complete fullness of God’s Mind, His Power, Majesty, and Glory is beyond our ability to experience.  Not here, not now, not yet.

What is it like to chase an electron?

What is it like to see all the countless wavelengths and hear all the countless frequencies of the electromagnetic spectrum?

What is it like to hear the choir of all the stars in all the galaxies singing at once to the Risen Creator-King while all the angels’ voices soar in counterpoint?

What is it like to taste a ten-million-course banquet assembled by a host of angel chefs while the Persons of the Trinity dine at the table with us?

What is it like to see Your face,
Oh, Lord?

We likely will not know these things while alive on this world, but we have faith that we will know when we all hear the worldwide trumpet note that accompanies His returning shout as He comes at last to finish the redemption of all creation and all His people.

Until then, we are blessed, privileged, and gifted
With all of His
Sips,
Hints,
Nudges,
Samples,
Glimpses,
Whispers,
Previews,
Foretastes.

~ ~ ~
^^^^^

Now we see a blurred image in a mirror. Then we will see very clearly. Now my knowledge is incomplete. Then I will have complete knowledge as God has complete knowledge of me.  1 Corinthians 13:12 

Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 1 John 3:2

But as it is written in the Scriptures, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined the things that God has prepared for those who love him and wait for Him.”  1 Corinthians 2:9 
[ There are things God hath prepared for those that love him, and wait for him, which sense cannot discover, no teaching can convey to our ears, nor can it yet enter our hearts. We must take them as they stand in the Scriptures, as God hath been pleased to reveal them to us. –Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary]

Image by Gloryteller

He Returns On Fire In The Third Person

22 Jun 2013 4 Comments

^
^^
^^^
^^^^^
^^^^^^^

 

 

Gloryteller has returned in the third person, on fire to write.   (Who even missed him or noticed a lack of recent posts?)
He was “on retreat” in The Mountains once more.
He is, once more, humbled.
He is humbled beyond his usual daily state of  humbled-ness.
Unexpectedly.
Surprisedly.
Hiking and climbing  joyously with his youngest son, “College Guy”,
who is such a one that there should be no surprise at being humbled by him — by him and of course by Creator God, Who lets Gloryteller,
and indeed helps him,
do what he can’t do,
go where he can’t go,
see what he can’t see,
and be what, and whom, he can’t be.

As the mountains caught fire, he did too, in the spiritual sense.
Humbled, yet on fire?  Yes, like the lightning-sparked blazes in the forests, it was completely natural.
Fire is a muse to him.
So is driving.
So is hiking.
So is lightning.
And thunder-like-a-cannon is a muse to him.
And sitting on a peak, and watching the clouds, and living a life.
So are many writers a muse to him.  (You might be one of them)
So are extraordinarily ordinary people, and not so ordinary,
like Tim The Waiter, who most likely will never read about his genuine, inspiring self here.
Sources of inspiration —
Muses.
Nothing more than types and shadows of The One Source of his true inspiration.
He’s back, yet still away.
Humbled.
Emboldened.
Muse in his own right.
Blazing with ‘musement.
‘Mazement.
He contemplates.
He ruminates.
He wonders.
He ponders……..

What fire burns there?
What does a muse muse about?

He picks up his flat-keyed ‘pen’ and begins to spark lightning-fires,
His muses prompting, chittering, talking excitedly all at once.

~~~
^^^^

Father, Son, Pinnacle

Father, Son, Pinnacle

Image by Gloryteller

You’re Living On The Surface

01 Jun 2013 6 Comments

   ^~ ~ ~^

I don’t remember what mood or incident triggered this rather “different” drafting;
rather more outspoken, and opinionated, and, maybe, judgemental than my usual.
It is almost a rant – a departure from my normal voice, but I feel
that it was put in me for a reason; that it is a rant against the enemy,
and that a special someone will benefit by hearing it, and I pray
the Holy Spirit sends it where it should go:

    ^~ ~ ~ ~^

You’re Living On The Surface

I see you up there where my own self once languished,
Pleasure seeker.
(Never think that I deem myself better than you,
For I have been you
And am you)
But at the same time,
This is how the Endteller said it would be;
That most would not see past their hands
Feel past their skins
Think past their morning coffee
Their all-day coffee-chased pills
Their evening intox
Giving themselves away in so many imaginative ways
Their narco-laced, caffeine-based,
Red-saffron blood-fed
Self-stimulated gorge
And surge
And purge
And urge
Huge, insatiable appetites whet
Tiny, urgent, skimming lives.

Food, drink, pleasure, weep;
Slather, blather, rinse, repeat.
Rat-race to anxiety,
Retreat into a fetal sleep.

Where Me, Myself, and I is a
meaningful relationship.

Loving only love is false.
Where the tee-vee is the mirror
And the mirror is queen,
Where desperation-devastation has the taste of sinn-amon
Sin-ammonia
Sin-pneumonia
Stinking poison
Sin euphoria
Where life’s meaning wades in a shallow, muddy puddle
And no new taste
(sing this part to your favorite tune)
No new place
No new clothing
No new feeling
No new art
No new wine
No new toy
No new noise
No new bauble
No new ring
No new car
No new poem
No new scenery
No new skin
No new lie
No new anything can satisfy for long.
No new association is a satiation anymore
And even the plaintive inside voice
That says “there must be something more”
Is fading.
This is how the Endteller said it would be
Oh, Beautiful,
Oh, sad, lost, desperate pleasure seeker.
Oh youthful, doomed, nightmare dreamer.
And there’s no way out but more of the same
More of the same
More of the shame
More of the same…

The elusive answer is hiding in plain sight:
Awaken from surface sleep,
For morning awaits with gifts in her hands.
Transforming and new
For there is much more than you have seen or imagined.
Dive deep beneath the flotsam of an empty existence,
Dive deep to where Love Himself waits well beyond the shallows
Though you may not love Love yet,
There, in the depths where you are loved so intensely,
Is a start
Is your ransom
Is your beginning
Is your only hope
Dive deep, drown in Love
Oh, Beautiful, becoming, emerging seeker.
Astound the Endteller.
Dare the depths and be saved from the nowhere-place
The nothing-time
Of a surface-self existence.

Image by Gloryteller

I Shared My Everything

30 May 2013 4 Comments

^~^

^~ ~ ~^

With you

Not only some cash

Not only some time

Not  only my past

Nor pain

Not only my failure and success

My love

True, and again, yes

But most of all I shared my faith

Spurned or embraced

That is all I have that really matters

Even Faith-So-Small

My everything and All-In-All

My joys and my sorrows

To make a difference

THE Difference in hope for your tomorrows

A deposit with endless interest

Awaits you there

When and where

And if you will accept the prayer

Of faith

Of everything with you I gladly share.

Image by Gloryteller

Evil Tries, Good God Triumphs

20 May 2013 1 Comment

~ ~ ~

Nowhere, Nothing, No-One, Never —

Of Trial and Triumph

~ ~ ~

There is nowhere
Evil can go
that Good can’t reach.

There is nothing
Evil can touch
that Good can’t redeem.

There is no-one
Evil can take
that Good can’t release.

There is not one life
Evil can chain
that Good has not the key.

~ ~ ~

~  ~  ~  ~

Image by Gloryteller

A Song To Time

15 May 2013 Leave a comment

by Gloryteller in Christian Poetry, Christian Writing, Forgiveness, Metaphor Tags: , , ,

 

 

A Song To Time

"The Wheel of Time" by Cris Ortega

“The Wheel of Time” by Cris Ortega

I write and I rewrite my song to beautiful Time,
Moment by moment.

Seeking not to waste her fleeting love,
I almost capture her essence,
Beat by beat,
But it slips away……
Breath by breath,
She steals the day,
And memories.

Never waits,
Precious, even in her arrogance,
Absconds with everything,
But is never caught in her cruel game.

Once, I held her elusive attention.
Once, I was able to hold her longer.
In elation, I was able to dance her
Fair into the night,
Bewitched by her deceitful spell,
And her flagrantly capricious charms,
Ignoring all the obvious alarms…….

Ahhh, but better choosings of late have left me
Fonder memories of her.
Fewer regrets.
Forgiven-ness wrenched
From her unforgiving airs.
Often, I am left with no regrets at all.

I write and I rewrite my song to her.
Moment by moment.
Even though she never loves for long,
And never, ever, stays……

Your Daughter, My Mother

11 May 2013 2 Comments

by Gloryteller in Christian Poetry, Christian Writing, Christianity, Faith, God, God's Glory, God's Promises, Life, Love, Prayer Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

A slightly melancholy look at a child’s love.
A celebration for, and of, his mother.
A prayer for one whose presence was irreplaceable.
A prayer for one whose absence is always felt.
Love You, Mom.
Me


Your Daughter, My Mother

Dear Heavenly “Grand”-Father,

Many years ago; more than twenty-two,
You made Mom a place to live
When she went away
To live with You.
Would You go there today,
Right up to her house,
And give her, for me,
A nice new dress,
A flowery skirt,
A pretty blouse?
Would You give her
Nice-looking sandals,
Or some beautiful shoes?

Oh, Grandpa, today I’m getting the blues….

You chose her to bear me,
I was blessed from the start.
Please tell her I miss her.
We are too far apart.
Would You put a sparkling
Crown on her head?
Or just hold her hand?
Would You give her, today,
A big Daddy-hug?
The warmest kind as only You can?
And tell her that her prayers for me
Were answered by You,
And are being still,
To this very day.
Tell her I’m finally free.
I’m on Your Son’s path,
I’m following Your Way.
Maybe not all that she hoped
And she prayed, not  just yet,
But much closer, Grand-Daddy,
Much closer this day….

Today, she just seems
Much too far away….

All the time and the distance,
That pries us apart.
‘Spite life’s trials and resistance,
She’s still in my heart.
So thank her for me.
‘Cause it’s heavy to bear,
That it’s Mothers Day here and she’s way up there.
But tell her I will soon see her, perhaps!
Until then, maybe give her a dance.
Will you give her a flower?
Lord, give her a laugh.
Tell her I can hardly wait.
I’ll see her at the garden gate –
The one on the west,
When I finally come.

Meantime, Grandpa God, please give her my best.
Your best too, ’cause we love her,
‘Cause You hear all my prayers,
‘Cause You know who they’re from,
And just because she’s Your daughter,
And because she’s my mom!


 

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The Basic Christian Library

"Mere Christianity" by C.S. Lewis. This is fundamentally what Christianity is all about.

"The Case for Christ" by Lee Strobel. Another converted atheist presents His compelling case for believing in Jesus.

"Left To Tell" by Imaculee Ilibagiza. This profound work is her own extraordinary story of endurance, discovery of the Holy Spirit, grace, healing, and an astonishingly compelling account of the necessity for forgiveness.

Compelling Christian Fiction Reads

"The Circle" 4-book series by Ted Dekker.
A man is the bridge between two very different worlds. Sound familiar? Can he save both? This T.D. work is brilliant in my book.

"This Present Darkness" and "Piercing the Darkness" by Frank E. Peretti. Tales of spiritual warfare from a unique perspective. Stirred a small controversy, but sold millions. What are we Christians afraid of? Hey, it's fiction!

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