Ingrained

Be pleasant, As American do not extend my personal rights to cover my neighbor’s freedom. It has never been about self, that is what our pride makes it. It is always about how we determine to get along together such that we do not bring the agents of law into our community. We have collectively determined not to display the behaviors of knowledge and experience with each other leading to conflicts that just don’t happen when respect is the currency of each day.

Seeing this construct we are immediately forced, though we adamantly avoid it to analyze our behaviors and reflect as to their compliance with this higher level of societal norms. We are instantly brought to understanding that we are inconsistent with people who say that they know Christ Jesus, as our fruits fail the test He stated would determine understanding. When I know a man cannot engender or bring forth the fruits of the Holy Spirit, I immediately give way to a fool wielding a broadsword in close proximity to people around him.

We are not freed simply to choose however we treat people is acceptable even when the bulk of the society has become so contorted that they believe themselves the center of the universe. Yes, I may to an extent express my unique view and desires to a point, but even when others agree that anarchy is the norm, there remains the ingrained dilemma that all men know God and know that there are absolutes with regard to right and wrong or good and evil. In fact my continued concentration upon doing a I want, or doing it my way, presents itself as the gateway to social discord, but these must be done in a manner of national agreement. For if the wicked are left in command then all societal guidelines of community maintenance are broken by the constant attempts to have what I want be the center of governance.

God help U.S. when those we have elected cease to follow the social understanding of absolute norms. That is where we were just last year. Now, we are in the throws of carving out the path to a new declaration of independence from this unbridled pursuit of self gratification. Like it or not the way forward is only found in division of those ideals and decision to conform our own behavior to absolutes, objective truths that may only come from the Voice of God in our lives or to abandon all parameters to pursue what You and I want 24/7 which defaults to the governance of who is in power over the vulnerable. Do it until you are satisfied means that those with the power to enforce their desired pathway will always prevail. This denies the innocent and the vulnerable. A society may therefore be known by their fruit of how they treat those who have no power against them.

We ceased being a nation of men governed by God’s objective truths when we forgot to protect the innocent. There is no child that should have to find the demons of this world and the mind of man to find a safe space to live and grow. I do not care what I want when it infringes upon this sacrosanct ideal. In fact that which I desire may be the sole impediment to achieving the life that we proclaimed when joined in God’s provision of a nation made to bring Glory to His name. Our problem has always been one of doing those things we know to be right and aligning our lives with the Fruits of God’s Spirit or serving any other catalyst most often the desires of the heart and flesh. To have safe society we must first protect the needs of the vulnerable and innocent, denying self before we can walk in vigilance toward nation through which we may rejoice.

Quickened

Nothing left but a bag of same old rhymes. Beating time on the front of old trousers. Hollering as if I’d seen the moon for the very first. Night’s so dark I cannot remember. All of the nice things that we were in such hurry to leave behind.

As the world refused to stop watching. I found the courage to sing from the hidden places. So many faces luring my eyes to days that should never have been forgotten. Some filled with dream some normal as rainy day blues.

And time called my name to the riches wrapped so deeply. Swimming in the cool deep comfort or tears and triumph. The smart things that so few uttered. And the pearls muttered in the green silent mornings of falls approach.

The tip of my tongue clicking out beats that matched the waves approaching. Reminiscent of the mysteries I had youthfully gambled. A mind of wonder and a heart full of sunshine and possibility. Purposely never pondering what lay beyond the sky.

Simple days and weeks in splendor. Sleeping mind free of burdens shared. Conflicts so swiftly forgotten or never visited. As the well of the world tasted sweetly at each short sip. Thinking slowly for ideas never ventured. No worries renewed.

A top the chest my keys and random pictures. A Pile of knickknacks infrequently sorted. Never enough to lead them to the relevant clues. For the depth of the forest must never be measured. As with love it must age and be sampled for a lifetime.

Lost in the pulsing sway in the voice of a child long departed. Competing with the birds to paint a picture I saw in God’s Eye. The golden victories of a man searching each experience for whispers of courage and valiant hope. Marking Time upon the counter top.

Into

Oh what warm, welcomed breath in the light, oh light. Steps and mind clear, battle hardened and ready, yet compassionate to those fallen, giving them honor, succor and hope of prolonged existence. Greens without taupe or grey, all bright formative and fixated in the brilliance and back drop. These wings touch the sky as if hand to married hand.

No worry, wander or fear in the labyrinthine dark. No more slippery footfalls and wet hands grasping the moss and stone. Look beyond the hills and stars to miracle and wonder. Hope plainly now reveals the hope of storm’s side and mountain’s flushing. Prelit the dawn of men of cheer marching to the cadence of Trump and sounding reign.

Free the hearts of men once slain by terror and fearful plunder into cavernous pitch. Falling forever it seems into the well of everlasting mire, awaiting sadness my only friend. Now the hues and spectrum harmonize calling us to miraculous splendor as the glorious and the unknown appear to each beyond the lens of myopic expectation.

Crimson born and snow blinded in sheer joyous madness of emergence upon horizon. We wrought delight at the fading nightfall, never to be remember or forgotten, simply erased from memory as the beams and presence of God Almighty light the star absent sky with dreams and possibility. We walked away from all fear-found memory.

Proof

Welcoming contortion of emotions and accepting deception, stacking the lies in datasets with normal memories, such that we are transformed by our library of recalled perceptions. Convincing ourselves of loves that never existed, wealth that never filled our banks or holdings and victories that were never won, perhaps never even ventured.

Is there a level of expectant doubt that is built into the system or are we thoroughly convinced by some lever of control to accept the unreal as actual? The whispers become suggestions that become consideration that become norms in some measure compelled to complicity. What urgency or desire must be tied to a piece of persona that evades the security of self?

What is real, if not the things that you believe to be true? Even if those things have been planted, manufactured, augmented or in the case of most sponsored by a need to believe. Do I really love God because I go to church eight times a week? Do I love Him if I never exceed to His testimony, trials or commands? Do I love a woman if I have a end state of that relationship that I am pursuing that has nothing to do with her care but rather a set of expectations that could have been programmed into my brain housing?

What then is the evidence of the objective? What form or face of reality may be determined over all other similar or matching frames of reason to be considered untainted, original, Sovereign? There must be a product or convention an outcome or set of emerging events that are consistent with the reliance upon it being “The Single Voice of what is Real? There must be demonstrative fruit of the vine of life lived with the parameters of definition.

Therefore, faith upon a thing may be proven incorrect or improperly placed. A love may have been simple adoration or interest. A solid invariably a gas and an idea actually found inconsequential. Love seems the most likely to face contortion as all need and want it or have convinced themselves in an odd twist of deprivation that they never wanted it. The Love of God is proven in life, in pain, in joy and in laughter or tears.

We are given promise only when we believe the parameters and ordinances of the Sovereign authority of Almighty God. A reliance upon that set of truths such that our behaviors in choice and action match that which God said would happen if we did or didn’t’ do a certain set of things. But Love, what is the test of God’s Love for a created thing? Are we to believe we are loved simply by having taken this last breath?

We had to have been given a tablet of things that were inconsistent with operating within the reasonable expectations of humanity. We had to see ourselves tainted, ill, of poor human posture in order to realize the depth of our dilemma. Don’t you find that odd? That we had to be told what was wrong in order to know that we were not right? We forced God to give us a mirror in commandments so that we could see the depth of human depravity and trespasses against Him and each other. Shouldn’t we have known if we have any capacity at originality and reason.

And much worse once seeing our wounds we then chose to make up a world inconsistent with the objective in order to accommodate our version and desire to live outside the real. Now it is quite normal this understanding that God requires proof of our love for Him and His will for humanity, that proof being Faith, a reliance and consistent thought/action as evidence of our willingness to comply with the objective truth. Certainly we may invent our own version but in so doing we fail to provide God the evidence of our Love and thus cannot hope to please Him.

Gifts

Each of you has perfectly shown me the encouragement of promptings of chastisement for which the Lord has sent you into my life. Why was Nathan so effective with David? These views, understanding and regret available to those who have heard from them close, are gifts for our own salvation, walking in fear and trembling, working this out for ourselves. I will not admit that all of that which you have given is pleasurable, in fact many of the people sent in to my life are those who have chosen Satan or who have yet to consider surrender to Christ Jesus. Loving them requires that I never blame, hate or remove them from my life for the lessons they were given to deliver. However, having done the work of God and pursuing a life without God as their impetus, sometimes it is the best choice to exercise my only power of simply stepping away from the interaction. I will admit that many who live in fear of the inherent danger of human love will often choose to avoid deep relationships believing themselves safer within the self designed parameters and false power of being alone.

This is frailty and fear in using the distance between myself and others as a self-defense mechanism. This is theft from Divine Intention, as we are meant to have interaction with humans as the only method of demonstrating the example of God has for them through each of us. I cannot tell people about Christ Jesus unless I am willing to overcome my own fear of the potential for heart pain to tell them the Gospel message as God commanded. Yes, there are opportunities for discernment and choice for not every relationship is meant to be pursued as the perfect mate God may be offering, but rather as the opportunity for Divine intervention through that sustained relationship. Nor am I to hate the disobedient for their lack of spiritual site or searing of conscience. They too are making choices that have been Divinely distributed, and if they wish to spend eternity in Hell than barring a good discussion through the Holy Spirit and the commensurate demonstration of love I have no other tool to offer and Pray that the HOLY SPIRIT do miracles in their lives.

I am not saddened by failure but invigorated by my next meeting in the throne room with Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Therefore I am grateful for your prompting to take it to the Lord in prayer and sorry to you for any angst my trespasses have caused you. Thank you for heeding God’s direction in courageously offering me His lessons for which you’ve been sent.

Who

Pulling punches because I love you. Is this how you would have me treat my enemies or just all people in general. It is not my job to be up in your business, nor is it my responsibility to sit here and watching you destroy the blessings God gives you and not utter a word. The only power of a disciple when people will not listen to the Gospel is to step away. Just as I would not bash you over the head with shortcomings or my version of how you should live your life, I cannot lend a listening ear to folly forever.

God gave us the opportunity to escape the judgment the entirety of humanity deserved. Yes, in my case every slight, every transgression every step taken away from God was taken by my own volition and perambulation. I walked, I talked, I balked when having been told to work the fields I remained in a lazy state or decided to travel the steps of my own reasoning or desire. Salvation is not something to take lightly. Having been set free from imprisonment, slavery and service to sin, guaranteed death and separation from God forever because of it, I ought not take it lightly when reviewing the nature of my deliverance.

That does not mean that I get to holler at you about your missteps or deliver the recommendations of God in an offhand manner. I am to be gentle and long suffering as His character demands, however, there is a point where we must understand the cost of not listening to advice or seeking wisdom and what we are left with in outcome. I love you, am your friend, Pastor and even deeper than that your Brother in Christ Jesus walking through this life to the time of our entrance to eternity. Perhaps a commitment to act that way now would allow me to encourage rather than correct?

You have been given tremendous gifts, blessings and opportunities regardless of how your attachment to a victimization mentality portrays them. I would venture to claim that the tests, trials and calamities you’ve faced have been a tremendous gift as they are evidence that God is never going to leave you alone to your own destructive intentions. I am sorry you don’t value the attention and you are not in awe that the Sovereign God of the universe has your number and loves you so much He has a plan to ready you for the work before you and the eternity He has prepared for you.

You claim that you want to serve His will. Where is the evidence, the fruits? You claim that you want to good Godly relationships with people who in their Godly nature take things seriously and offer you blessings of growth alongside them. Where is your respect for these blessings in the modification of your mouth, behaviors and songs? You claim that you want to learn and be ready? Where is the practice the intention and the meditation upon the instruction of God? What are you writing upon your heart except the same old evidence and the same old statements that you are right and no one has the authority to change that?

Who is God, and who are you? Consequently who does that answer make me?

Aware

August heat with flies and bees as the world seemed too loud to overcome. No space, fast pace and so many requirements to be allowed into the circle of love for garden parties. A child sat in the window seat overlooking to deeper woods. No storms today but a heat born anger sparked conversations seeking revenge and glory. Nothing good would come of those seeking quiet this afternoon.

They raged with clenched teeth and sweaty fists balled up like swelled wrinkled balloons. Arguing over the next important nothing just to say that they’d attended and won points within the bracket. It was hard to reckon that this was family often referred to in reference to Christ’s Body and all they could do with joyous position was fuss about this and yammer about that as if two drunken roommates contesting over the last warm beer.

No one’s girlfriend was slighted no one’s Mother offended just arguing about doctrine that stood written in the Good Book way before they’d ever shared their first breath, thought or step. Both so sorry for lacking compassion yet the thought of losing a contest in front of the gang was infinitely less pleasing. During the brief repose the young boy turned to see when they weren’t looking.

Did they know that Christ was among? Did they remember the part about wherever two or three were gathered, No, certainly not just as with the Apostles while Jesus listened they argued about which of them was superior in the hierarchy of God. Forgotten they were all just servants and somehow that should be enough for those serving their Adopted Father in the Coming of His Eternal Kingdom.