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A Living Sacrifice

The morning breaks,
And my will bends
To You, oh Lord, our Sovereign.
This body, mind, and feelings, too,
I wrap them up, offer to You.
Expected sacrifice of one who serves,
Privileged to praise You
While on this earth.
No special thing, if I alone*,
Yet beautiful
For the bride You own.
Your Glory known is why we give,
To acknowledge You
As He Who lives
Eternally, I Am whose flame
Of glorious Light
Proclaims His Name.

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Written after thinking about Romans 12:1 (KJV):

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

* = I do not infer that one's life of consecration to God is not important. Individual faith pleases God (Hebrews 11:6). Yet, within holiness, we join our lives for both mutual support and worship of God.

_________________
O Lord, we have waited for
You;
The desire of our soul is for
Your name
(from Isaiah 26:8 NKJV)

Be Still

Be still my soul,
know He is God,
that He is,
what He is doing.
In this discovery,
you take on
works of the Father,
by Love of the Son.

You can be still
as you are moved
by the Name of Jesus
to obedient tunes.
The words “lay down”
strike different chords,
depending how I
walk with the Lord.
One day it’s lay down
my life for His own;
in another, to rest,
trust Him alone.

In any case
the troubles of soul
become surpassed
when I “lay down”.

Be still. Try, soul:
You rudder-of-a-will!
How your lips
can displace
peace in this world!
Disciple you are,
and you shall be.
Be taught
by changing
and learning
to sing.

Be still my soul,
know He is God,
that He is,
what He is doing.
In this discovery,
you take on
works of the Father,
by Love of the Son.

_________________
O Lord, we have waited for
You;
The desire of our soul is for
Your name
(from Isaiah 26:8 NKJV)

Our Place

To be chasing Grace
Or by Grace, be chased?
To be a faithful sacramentalist,
Or a minimalist, by faith trusting?
All these settle
At the sound of,
“He took our place”!
For real God came among us,
Real flesh suffered, here.
True Man crucified
By our choosing to sin,
being pursued by its weight.
What liberation that He
took our place!
As body, as condemned,
As conscience, as Friend.
Grace held us at Calvary,
as we died with Jesus.
To think that our place
now lies
at Resurrection!

_________________
O Lord, we have waited for
You;
The desire of our soul is for
Your name
(from Isaiah 26:8 NKJV)

Saint Francis Strolling

Birds of the air
come, come to me.
See how the word [world] of Christ
is Peace!

Rest on my arms
stretched like a tree,
for each of thee, an ark,
glad company!

Brother-sun may see you,
but God knows your ways.
Brother-moon may help you sleep
while God cares.

When you come joyful
my heart sings,
Grace as much a gift
as any flyi-i-ing!

(Grace as much a gift
as creatures
by my tree).

Birds of the air
come, come to me.
See how the
word [world] of Christ
is Peace!

Rest on my arms
stretched like a tree,
for each of thee, an ark,
glad company!

_________________
O Lord, we have waited for
You;
The desire of our soul is for
Your name
(from Isaiah 26:8 NKJV)

(Based on: 1 Corinthians 1:28-29, "God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him" - NIV)

Thankful Saint

Thank You for the things that are not,
Chosen to nullify the things of man,
Those imaginations about who is weak and wise.
We were made to applaud what gives You pleasure.

And You have shown us, in Jesus, what is wisdom!
And You have shown us, in Jesus, who is strong!
Therefore we boast only in your righteousness,
Your holiness,
Of this grand revelation
Of what is not our own
Yet becomes, by the Spirit, ours
When we receive a toe-hold of mercy
With I Am, in the midst of what is,
By what Is not.

_________________
O Lord, we have waited for
You;
The desire of our soul is for
Your name
(from Isaiah 26:8 NKJV)

Please read these wonderful verses from the Scriptures. These are the backdrop
to the "Eternal Word" meditation: Proverbs 27:17; Psalm 149:5-6; Genesis 32:24-31; Hebrews 4:12; Zechariah 4:6; 1 Kings 19:11-13; John 6:66-69; Romans 12:2

Eternal Word

If iron sharpens iron,
Sharpen me O Lord!
I sing upon my bed with
Praises like a sword
That cut my will to adore You
And wound me in my pride.
Lord, may the Spirit’s sword
Sharpen me inside.

Sharper than two-bladed
Swords Your Spirit glides,
Dividing mind, emotions,
What we understand as “might”.
Your still, small voice shall render
Us obedient,
For Who else shall we turn to,
When the Eternal Word is sent?

_________________
O Lord, we have waited for
You;
The desire of our soul is for
Your name
(from Isaiah 26:8 NKJV)

The "old man" is a dust-clever . . . as David discovered when he confessed his sin . . . Psalm 119:25: "My soul cleaveth unto the dust: quicken thou me according to thy word" (KJV).

It is true that we are made of "dust" . . . from Genesis 3:19: "for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return" (KJV).

But God has not left us in the dust . . . Ephesians 4:24: "And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness" (KJV).

How beautiful this Gospel is . . . Isaiah 52:7: "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!" (KJV).

How wonderful the "clothing" of this truth--this prompting to praise God . . . Isaiah 61:3: "to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified" (KJV).

In this life, we enjoy being enveloped in this life-giving garment! 2 Corinthians 4:16: "For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day" (KJV).

And beyond the dust of the old man, which we have put off and refuse to wear as a garment of mourning, we look forward, with joy, to the Day of Eternal Morning! 1 John 3:2: "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is" (KJV).

_________________
O Lord, we have waited for
You;
The desire of our soul is for
Your name
(from Isaiah 26:8 NKJV)

(consider Matthew 6:28-34)

From my Heretical Happiness: Echoes of St. Francis (no copyright)

If I went from the Vatican
To other nations
I’d say it again,
“Look at the lilies, how they are arrayed,
Superior to Solomon, in Spring!”

Is our compassion suburbic
Where no questions align?
Merely conformance to time, wine?

If I go to your park
Where happiness flourishes,
I’d sit by you, say something else,
“Pardon me brother, where do you stay?
“Is your house a part of the Kingdom?”

_________________
O Lord, we have waited for
You;
The desire of our soul is for
Your name
(from Isaiah 26:8 NKJV)

Reference my last post, by "heretical", I meant "as opposed to the things of this world"--this world's system (Ref. Romans 12:2; Ephesians 6:12)

_________________
O Lord, we have waited for
You;
The desire of our soul is for
Your name
(from Isaiah 26:8 NKJV)

I am amazed at how our Lord
protects us even in the midst our own
ignorance and misperception of
things—even making a blessing
out of these.

I have not listened much to Michael Card’s
singing, but I noticed how wonderfully
lyrical his words are. Well, one song
I heard (obviously without the benefit
of the words on a screen) always sounded like,
“Love crucified a Rose”. And I always thought,
“What severe mercy, that the Father’s Love
would lead Him to give us His only Son as
the Sacrifice for our sin!”

Now, this morning, I googled on "Michael Card"
and found his song, “Love Crucified Arose”.
Wow! A whole different yet complimentary picture!

We should not be too boastful about the mysteries
of Christ that God shows us in this life. After all, the Father in
His mercy just might be bypassing our frailties to teach
us something in spite of ourselves! And I’m convinced
that this is often the case.

With this learned humility, we can bless God more
fervently and be ever more compassionate toward others—
if not more patient with ourselves.

_________________
O Lord, we have waited for
You;
The desire of our soul is for
Your name
(from Isaiah 26:8 NKJV)

There is more Love,
Where there is more humility,
For God is Love,
He never changes,
Could not Love us more.
So if we want more Love,
Let us decrease, be less smug.
Our own contrite hearts
Will lay bear our wills
For more of His Grace.
This wondrous ark of refuge
Approaches Home,
A growing vista which of itself
Is more revelation.
But when we turn around,
Look inside our lofts,
The thing that brings more Love
Is a servant’s Hope.

_________________
O Lord, we have waited for
You;
The desire of our soul is for
Your name
(from Isaiah 26:8 NKJV)

(reference my two posts on January 27, 2013)

Christ the Rose arose,
From Sharon to His Home!
Came down from thrones,
Here entoned
With human voice, Treasures!

Christ, the One Man for Others,
Of all who seek His Honour.
He washed the feet
To show the meek
Would inherit Him and earth.

Christ the Crucified One:
The marks upon His Hands
Still signify
He gave His life;
The Rose of Sharon stands!

_________________
O Lord, we have waited for
You;
The desire of our soul is for
Your name
(from Isaiah 26:8 NKJV)

In our efforts to evangelise, do we look at people
as a "target audience" or as, at their core, individuals?

I'm reminded of what happened yesterday at the
pension call center where I work. A client asked if
I could e-mail a form to her. Our conversation went like this:

"I'm sorry, we can't e-mail. But I can fax if you like. Your number is?"

"Fine. B-a-r-b--".

"I'm sorry, we can't e-mail".

"Okay, B-a-r--".

"Ma'am, I wish I could send by e-mail. May I have your fax number?"

[I heard some commotion at her end. She asked if she could put me
on hold to talk with someone. A half minute later she got back on the
line . . . ]

"B-a-r-b--".

"I apologize, but I just can't do e-mail sends of forms!"

"Oh, that's okay, I've just been trying to give you my name for the
'Attention To:' line of your fax!"

We both laughed heartily after that disjointed dialogue!

So I ask: in our evangelisation [a lifestyle and dialogue
with non-Christians and Christians who need bolstering (don't we all!)],
are we cognizant that we are conversing/interacting with people in
whom Jesus saw heart-mind-soul-spirit?* Oh, I'm sure that's our intent,
but do we somehow distill motivation into some formulistic
"them" approach?

May God give me . . . give us all the Grace to continually think of
others through Compassion's eye, where the call of "Come unto me"
pans through crowds, daring a unique response from each.*** May we not just
send "messages"; may we send/commend ourselves to others in Jesus' Name,
"Attention To" whomever God allows us to minister to, whether in-person or long distance,
whether real-time or delayed.

_________
* Mark 12:29-31
** Matthew 11:28
*** Mark 5:25-29

_________________
O Lord, we have waited for
You;
The desire of our soul is for
Your name
(from Isaiah 26:8 NKJV)

Psalm 103:14

God’s discipline is tactical; His Love is strategic, overarching—the demonstration
of His character, His being.

1 John 4:7-8

God is Love.

Proverbs 16:1
Ecclesiastes 11:9-10
Psalm 84:10
Psalm 42:1
Psalm 89:1
1 John 4:16
1 John 1:5

Man’s free will is tactical. Man’s worship of the Creator is strategic—for he was
made for fellowship with and praise for One Who fashioned him.

Man is Love’s object and a sharer of the Heavenly Father’s Compassion, of the Son’s
selfless embrace and of the Holy Spirit’s richest confirmations of Mercy and Light.

_________________
O Lord, we have waited for
You;
The desire of our soul is for
Your name
(from Isaiah 26:8 NKJV)

I wrote the narrative below, after thinking about these
verses and the life of Saint Francis of Assisi

Romans 12:15
Matthew 25:36
Psalm 42:5
Psalm 87:7
Psalm 43:3
Psalm 42:5
Psalm 43:4
Isaiah 53:4-5; 1 Peter 2:24
Galatians 6:2
Psalm 103:5
James 5:15; 2 Corinthians 5:8

_________________
O Lord, we have waited for
You;
The desire of our soul is for
Your name
(from Isaiah 26:8 NKJV)