Conversation: Forbear
Colossians 3: 13
Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.
Forgiveness, But Only If...
Just hanging like a spectacle
And lonely beyond words
And seeing false religion strut
With all their venom heard
And He a Teacher full of hope
With gentle hands to heal
Not judging every trip and fall
But offering comfort real.
He prayed as if the Sky could hear
'Might you forgive their doubt
And cruelty based on ignorance
Oh Father help them out
But only if they turn to me
Like John with Mother below
And drop right now all hateful spite.'
Did Christ pray thus? Lord NO!
But rather He held hope sublime
That light would come and love
And grace and mercy take the place
Of bloody push and shove.
Nasty Christians Need to Learn
I shouldn’t need to change you
I shouldn’t need to pound.
Perhaps you’ve been mistreated
And left with hurts profound
Perhaps you met a Christian
Who cut you to the core
Or left you feeling dirty
And second-rate for sure.
My job is not the doctrine
To cram into your heart.
My job is dauntless loving
That sets His Church apart.
The kind that walked the seaside
And bid the hurting near
The kind that healed the wounded
And took away death’s fear.
He didn’t need agreement
He didn’t need to win
He simply showed a kindness
That made men loathe their sin.
And He is all my pattern
And He is all my pride.
And He is waiting near you
To put His Love inside.
Forgiveness: A Must
http://issuu.com/deedub51/docs/forgiveness
Among the Hogs
Came to myself
And the sight was not pretty
Came to myself
In a mud-spattered mess.
Father had rendered
My share in the family
Knowing full well
That it scarcely could bless.
Friends had been fast
As I opened the purse-strings
Life had seemed sweet
In the dark rooms of sin
Wine is a mocker
And strong drink is raging
Feeling a king-pin
I sauntered right in.
Now I am working
A stranger’s foul homestead
Feeding his swine
This, a Jew’s strangest thought
Missing my Father
And joys at the Home-Farm
Cursed this condition
My own lusts had wrought.
Might I go back
And appeal now for mercy?
Yes, it seems wiser
Than all else around
Sensing a hope
That defies all description:
Dead might be raised
And the lost might be found.
Note: In my estimation the story of the Prodigal Son is the best in all of human invention. But of course it is Jesus’ story and transcends the images of limited, sinful scribes. A young man comes to himself; stops at “Wit’s End Corner” and sees the wreckage. He finds out that his Father/God loves to restore broken things; loves to hear the words “I am so sorry. You were right all along. Please forgive me Father.”
I don’t care where we are in our Christian walk, there is always one more thing for which we must repent. If you visit a church and over the front door see a sign which reads “Got-It-All-Together Assembly”, turn around (repent) and flee that place as if it held the plague. Better you kneel alone in a quiet room with Bible opened. And do real business and see real truth and gain real currency for use in a fallen world reeling from pain, unbelief and self-will…Doug
New Weapons
You have become my gladiators, gladiators of steadfastness, patience, mercy, long-suffering, prayerfulness, watching and waiting. You did not choose me but I chose you, and ordained you that you might go forth and bear fruit and that your fruit might remain.
Once gladiators faced their king affirming, "We who are about to die salute you." But you the new gladiators have the privilege of saying, "We who are never going to die will salute You forever with thankful hearts."
And this is the weapon I give you to defeat the devices of the enemy; it is thanksgiving. You will recall past mercies and deliverances and will go forward with confidence to do my work, partnering with me and bringing me glory.
And in this service there will be times when you will be acted upon, when you will be passive, when adverse circumstances and coarse people will refine the ore. But was this not the place of my Son's greatest work? His Passion? The power is spelled out in a peculiar way in the Beatitudes (hungering, thirsting, mourning, making peace, being pure, meek, choosing not to retaliate, being persecuted for righteousness etc.)
Of Fathers and Forgiveness
In a chat with a friend earlier today the topic got around to the Prodigal Son in Luke 15. We were agreed that the dark cloud in the story was not the returning wastrel but rather the self-righteous elder brother, who confirmed that he had always operated out of painful duty to honour his father (not out of love or thankfulness).
I would suggest that the story infers another dark image; the farm neighbour down the road who earlier saw the boy hiking in rags and filth and a hang-dog countenance, and got “on the telephone” to forewarn the Father:
“Chester, it’s Lloyd. How ya doin’? Say, Chester I want you to know that that no-good boy of yours Flip is about five minutes from your front door. He looks awful. He must have really blown whatever opportunities he thought that he might have had. Has nothing to show for it. Probably frittered away a lot of your hard earned cash in the process. I wouldn’t blame you man if you refused him into your house. Thankless young punk. Just like so many of them today. My eldest Roger included. Haven’t seen him in nine years. Rumour has it he is hooked up with some divorcee on the Coast. Might never see him again. No loss.
Well I thought I should give you the heads-up. After all, what are neighbours for? Hopefully he won’t hang around for long. Talk to ya soon.” Click.
Art by Clark Kelly Price
But we all know what the Father in the parable did do at the earliest possible opportunity. Read it once a month and for so long as it takes you to get a true look at the eager, loving heart of our Heavenly Father. You will cherish that Heart. You will draw close. (Luke 15:11-32)
See also:
http://momentsmidstream.blogspot.ca/2009/05/road-home.html#!/2009/05/road-home.html
Deep Digging
No these are not mere words
We’re done with games
Done with prescribed religious talk
Our gut growls
With the unsated hunger of searching
We’ve searched your Book
We’ve searched on our knees
We’ve searched the experiences of friends
And your footprint shows
But not your face
Not your kindly embrace.
You inhabit the praises of your people
You’ve told us that
You inhabit abandon
And brokenness.
And expectation.
And now “by prayer and supplication
With thanksgiving”
We come, and we come together.
Show us Lord, the reluctance
The unforgiveness, the pretension
The testiness and impatience
Pull out all the stops.
Please.
The diaphragm quivers
The face is wet
The phrases come with melody
And we are released
Into You.
Corrie ten Boom on a Death-bed
Yes I could feel it
Third day now and flat on the bed
Strange tightening under the left breast
Friend and nurse fussing about me so.
But I had my ticket for the next trip
Folks wanted to hear my saga from the Camp.
They would accept prayer.
They would countenance healing and forgiveness.
Nope, my mission was not yet done.
I started to offer thanks.
In my heart’s voice
I told God of my love for Him
Told Jesus of my thanks to him.
For an instant I saw my Father
Happy Dutch watchmaker
And then the Camp
And my last earthly look upon his face
As they led him off.
With some dear Jews.
He would be waiting
Also my princess sister Betje.
She had been stacked like so much cordwood.
Shocking, undeserved translation.
And all those precious women
Bunk-mates, fighting
The monotony and humiliation.
Gathering, at night, together
‘Round the one hidden New Testament.
But not yet…not yet.
And the peace came
And the chest settled.
I could almost spot the time
When the blood flow smoothed.
When my own clock turned the corner
Unto recovery and renewed vigour.
I slept, contentedly.
In the morning my Friend bathed me.
And I put on that new dress
Heading for the Sun Porch.
Nope, mission not finished.
And so He tells me.
Ecclesia
Ecclesia: “An Assembly Summoned Out”
Out of what? The daily grind. The regimen of the working week. The common thoughts of everyday. The priorities and wanderings of the faithless. The push and pull of lusts. The debilitating fear of men. The never-ending agenda of serving self. The short-sighted attention to the now. The bondage of past hurts, disappointments and unforgiveness. The grim fascination with the sordid, violent and unlovely. The unpurified conceptions of love. The common talk of Jesus as past history and not as present friend and shepherd.
And what must pick us up and call us out? The incomparable love of God, His promises and warnings. His call that cannot be resisted. His filling that empty place in the heart.